Lorena Ancona

Mexican artist Lorena Ancona’s practice uses Maya blue pigment as a locus from which to explore historical techniques used in Mesoamerican craft traditions. Maya blue, an azure colour considered the first man-made pigment in the Americas and produced by the Maya and Aztecs, is highly resistant to weathering; early paintings made using the colour have not faded over time. Ancona’s practice seeks to uncover and rearticulate such materialities and traditions, as well as the iconography and symbolism within Mesoamerican architecture and works to ensure their place in history. Ancona’s practice begins with archival and field research – for instance, her research within the British Museum into casts produced by archaeologist and explorer Alfred Maudslay – and involves gathering materials, and then using them to produce her own textile and ceramic pieces. ...

LLANO is a Mexican platform focused on artists whose production is the result of long-term research. Their body of work is often related to science, history, technology as well as forgotten wisdom and unforeseen communities. LLANO highlights thought processes and thorough research, creating crosspoints and strong bonds with the work from an immersive standpoint. It aims to take the spectator beyond traditional exhibition formats and deeper into the original source of the work. LLANO is an all-around project where exhibition space evolves into many shapes: from an open field in the top of a former textile factory in Mexico City to volcanos, jungles, deserts, oceans, mountains, as well as urban landscapes and historical landmarks. The diverse projects it presents begin as expeditions that go directly into the context that sourced inspiration and information for the artist and are the natural niches to where the work belongs. LLANO’s intention is to build bridges between the spectator and the profound reasons that hold artworks together, in order to experiment art from a new and different standpoint, both literally and symbolically. ...