One cubic meter of gas
David Camargo & Amauta García
• residency: 27 september - 9 november 2023
• opening: Friday, 10 November, 16:00-19:00
w. Instant Choir at 17:00
• exhibition: 10 November - 9 December 2023
How long does it take to create one cubic meter of gas? For their project at Hotel Maria Kapel artists David Camargo and Amauta García reflect on the exhaustive exploitation of natural resources with an experiment where they connect a ceramic heater sculpture to a biodigester which generates heat from compost, thus warming up the cold chapel during the last months of the year.
During the opening at 10 November Alejandro Marra will intervene in the installation with Marrascopios, light mechanisms that dialogue with sound improvisations, and Ciska Ruitenberg will perform an Instant Choir where we will gather around the biogas heated ceramic. The public is invited to sing and fill the chapel with their voices. It is an invitation to feel the presence of underground beings and the deepest time of the Earth, and listen to the presence of stories that have not been told.
One cubic meter of gas is part of a long research project with several outcomes that critically reflects on the exploitation of volcanoes by mining or urban expansion - initially inspired by stories of migrant women in the 1970’s in Mexico City, who in their search for housing illegally founded a neighborhood on volcanic soil, back then one of few vacant plots in an otherwise densely built city. For their project at HMK, the duo surfaces the untold stories of volcanoes in the geographic of The Netherlands, specifically the mining of the Zuidwal-gasveld on top of the extinct Zuidwal volcano underneath the surface of the Waddenzee. How long will it take before we exhaust those elements? How can we generate awareness and thoughtful consideration for the layers of the soil that carries and nurtures us? Amidst growing concerns about the environment, the scarcity of natural resources, roaring gas prices and badly insulated monumental buildings such as Hotel Maria Kapel, this project speculates about the ways we could relate to beings we cannot see.
With a 3D printer specially designed for ceramic, the duo generate forms that resemble the bacteria that inhabit the human intestine but also create biogas deep under the surface of the earth. During their residency at HMK they researched different relationships with the earth by interviewing specialists in global warming, underwater mining and fossil fuels. This research is the basis of a film whose trailer will be shown in the basement of the building, alongside with the film Arullo by David and Amauta, where a lullaby is sung to the inner depths of the earth.
David Camargo & Amauta García say: ‘During the residency at Hotel Maria Kapel, we want to make a ceramic sculpture connected to a biodigester that embraces the visitors of the 16th century chapel through the heat generated by bacteria similar to those that inhabit the human intestine and the underground, where they generate natural gas. The creation process will be open to the public to foster collective learning and engage in dialogue with specialists in global warming, underwater mining and fossil fuels, as well as artists and others interested in seeking different relationships with the earth. The process will start with a performance, where a spontaneous collective choir will sing a song dedicated to the layers of the earth. It is an invitation to feel the presence of underground beings and the deepest time of the Earth, and listen to the presence of stories that have not been told.’
Amauta García and David Camargo are a duo of Mexican artists who have been working together on different projects since 2011. Amauta García has focused on the relationships between urban extractivism, migration and environmental affectivity. David Camargo explores the idea of representation and its multiple narratives and simulacra, in the context of a society mediated by images. They have exhibited their work in Mexico, the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, Georgia and Cuba. As a duo, they were artists-in-residence at Jan van Eyck Academie, (2021-2022), and Borderland Residencies, Germany (2022). They were selected by Stichting NDSM-werf to do a site-specific piece in NDSM-werf, Amsterdam, (2022). In 2023, their film Arrullo was part of the the International Film Festival Rotterdam Official Selection, and in the same year they were selected to the The Great Wide Open Festival (Netherlands), The Alimenterre Festival (Belgium), and artist-in-residence program of the Hotel Maria Kapel (The Netherlands).
Made possible with help of: Ruud Spil