Interview: Jaime Miranda-Bambarén
You are a multidisciplinary artist that covers photography, video, performance and sculpture. How do you define yourself?
I define myself as vehement and disciplined like a soldier that takes care of
his own imagination.
What inspires your design process?
I am permanently reviewing the archives (photos, videos, text, etc.) of the ongoing and past projects and searching for clues or missing gaps in the symbolic constellation of these visions. In the most secluded places of Peru, if you spend some weeks, or even months, dreams and objective-world start to blend, and magnificent narratives unravel.
What music do you like to listen to when you work?
I prefer no music in the workspace. I give my studio assistants a call minutes before I arrive so they turn the music off. I need to look and experience the work in a neutral state of mind so that there is no manipulation by music. We all see it in the movies. Music is all about manipulation of emotions and I aim for a cleaner experience of the object.
Where do you source those big wood pieces?
The valleys on the coast and secluded places in the highlands of Peru, especially in the areas of Pisco, Huancayo, Cajamarca, Ayacucho. I have a team of explorers and collaborators that spend months searching for the biggest tree stumps. These pieces in NY are probably the largest and oldest eucalyptus tree stumps of Peru. We salvage the remains of plundered trees. And it is interesting to know that an essential part of the process of sourcing this material are the rituals and offerings given to a very specific mythological creature, the Muki – some kind of Satanic goblin that guards the underground treasures all over Peru. Part of the work, are the videos documenting this experience and you may find them on this link: https://13moons.nyc/videos/
What is your favorite part about being a sculptor?
Capturing testimonies and moments where I sense there is some sort of
enlightened experience.
Tell us more about your current thirteen Seeds, installed in front of New York State’s Supreme Court.
This site-specific sculpture installation is called 13 Moons. There are 13 sculptures made out of single piece reclaimed eucalyptus roots. The installation began on the Summer´s Solstice, 21 st June, and will end on the
Day of the Dead, November 1 st . Between those dates, The Hand of God or Nature will do the final patina, through rain, the Sun, pollution, and being present to the experience of NYC.
What would you like to accomplish in the near future?
I will live in New York until November and plan to visit my installation and talk to people there every day.
I would like to find an adequate place to permanently install these 13 sculptures. This is an unrepeatable work of art due to the unique source material it is made of and the context of the installation. I chose Foley Square due to the symbolic density of its surroundings; the history of New York is condensed in its Civic Center. It would be a lost battle for me and even the people of NY if the 13 Moons do not find a place in the city. I am confident someone will read this, see the opportunity, and write me with an interesting offer.
Your favorite quote is …A combination of two quotes, perhaps:
“The madness has to find somewhere to run wild.” ~Iain Sinclair
“Imagination is man’s divine embodiment” ~William Blake
Editor: Lisa Portscher
https://www.instagram.com/lisaportscher/
