Maras (Salt Flat), 2021

Maras is the Quechuan word for ‘salt flats’, referencing a place in the artist’s home country where, as the tides swell with the waxing of the moon, vast salt deposits are left behind. In the Incan tradition, people celebrate these gifts from nature, because they would use the salt after the spring harvest to preserve their food for the long winter months. In this work, the artist uses desert sand and seashells to recreate the look and unique coloring of the salt flats that are such an important part of the Ecuadorian and Incan ecosystem, still preserved to this day.