//Braiding Resistances
//336.5 km from Bogotá is Sonsón, a town in the south of Antioquia, where I had the opportunity to meet Alba Hernández, a 42-year-old Antioquian woman, member of the Weavers for the memory of Sonsón, with whom I crossed paths on the field trips carried out in the research project "Remendar lo nuevo" in 2019.
On these field trips, I encountered otherness but also empathy. Differences became evident, but also connections, especially with Alba. In her testimonies, I perceived the meaning of resistance. For me, she is a woman of resistance. Therefore, without much clarity yet on what the final idea would be, I invited her to participate in this research-creation process and I started the journey hand in hand with her, recognizing her experiences and also my own as trigger points in the research.
//Braiding resistance is a listening experience composed of 5 pieces, where Alba and I relate and materialize our experiences, memories, and feelings around the concept of daily resistance.
Physically, each piece consists of 3 layers. Initially, we find photographs of our hands printed in black and white on canvas. On top of these, we superimpose a sheet of acrylic with engravings that visualize the movements made by the hands in the braiding. These movements were captured with a modified Open Source visual computer program. Adding to these two previous layers, we will find the braids that are the material metaphor of each experience of resistance that we wish to share. Therefore, each one is different, but they all connect.
The braid from the machine...
Visualizing the movement of the hands allows us to capture the presence of the person who made it. It also makes visible the process of making, which often disappears because we are used to obtaining only the final product.
//Finally, there is one last layer: the sound layer. Listening to the voices and their narratives connects this whole experience and, in order to reach them, we use the same means of connection that Alba and I had during the whole project, i.e. the phone call.
Tel: (031) 914-5999 (Braiding Resistances Voicemail)
Each braided resistor has a visible code which refers to the number of wires used in the braid, but it is also the code to dial in the call. We propose to create a space that pays homage to Alba, to our encounters and to our way of connecting throughout this project.
TRENZANDO RESISTENCIAS
Proyecto realizado por: Camila Padilla Casas.
En colaboración de: Alba Nidia Hernandez.
Directora del proyecto: Eliana Sánchez-Aldana.
Jurados: Jaime Patarroyo y Sol Trejos.
Universidad de los Andes
Facultad de Arquitectura y Diseño
2020
