In early 2014, on a journey with the Pachamama Alliance, I spent a few weeks with the Achuar and Sapára tribes in the rainforests of Ecuador. My time there was a humbling opportunity to get an insight into a way of life that is deeply respectful of the individual within community, and within a world view that honours the interconnection of all life. Through stories, meals and ceremony we shared very different perspectives of the same world. I learned that their sense identity is intrinsically linked to the forest that they live with: there is no place where the forest ends and they begin; they are the very roots, branches and leaves of its over all alive-ness.
Raíces Del Mundo means roots of the world and came from a sketch I made there, feeling a sense of the lightness, simplicity and freedom in connection, acknowledging that our actions have a ripple effect on one another and the living system within which we exist. The sense of connection felt dynamic and alive in a way that felt mutual, and liberated me temporarily from the isolation that I clothe myself in, in order to ‘survive’ in our modern world.
The painting is part of my project with Jo Cummins and Mathias Baumann. This is a link to the first part of our mini documentary series: Documentary Part 1
