Written by Audrey Rangel Aguirre, MA Art & Science, Central Saint Martins

Q. Tell us a little about your work and what we can see in this year’s Graduate Showcase?

A. Intuitive thinking is the medium for me to approach the interaction between Art and Science, through this process of acknowledging artistic intuition, I elaborate speculative narratives that are the path to arrive at new scenarios and new systems in which the next stage of human civilization is reached converging art, science, technology, spirituality, and philosophy. My research focuses on notions of microbiology, micro biotechnology, energy harvesting technology, chemistry, and physics to investigate the topic of Energy across scales as my main theme and situating the context of my practice inside the philosophical frame of microscopic, human scale, and macrocosmic scale.

Q. Can you give us a brief description of your work?

Terras Lux Project is new Imaginaries on Soil Mapping, Microecosystems of Energy and the relation with Human body.  The speculative project connecting artistic Practice with materials research as a way to understand Soil-Human Body- Microcosm connections. Using Speculative projects as a way to transcend and overcome the non-existent In order to expand human consciousness towards Civilization.

The conceptual framework of the project is focused on the interconnectedness of human beings with the surface of the earth in specifically with the soil. The energy that is contained inside the human body could have the possibility to be connected with the energy on soil, through interconnectedness with microbial ecosystems on the soil.

An important part of this conceptual framework is the idea of the possibility to access new levels of knowledge and consciousness of human beings through "Intuitive Thinking" which is the capability of the artists to take inspiration on scientific research and develop this knowledge to the next phase,  that is provided by adding artistic thinking and intuition, resulting in a more developed and high conscious concept, execution, and final outcome.

inspiration --->    scientific knowledge----> artistic intuition ---->project developed towards a more conscious and evolved level.

Q. How have you found the process in producing your work this year?

A. I have a background in sculpture and it has been hard to work without the workshops, but my practice evolved in new ways and I find that artists always find a way to overcome problems.

Q. Have you had to be creative under restrictions and a blended learning environment?

A. Yes, I had to be very creative to invent a new way to approach my practice in the context of a pandemic. The pandemic made me invent new ways of working and most of all thinking, as being in an enclosed environment allowed my mind to develop a kind of new freedom that allowed me to reach new levels of deepening my research. The good outcome of being enclosed in a pandemic was to discover creative intuition and intuitive thinking as a powerful force in my art practice.

Q. Do you think the last year’s experiences have been reflected in your work?

A. Yes, The main concepts and project came as visions to me during the pandemic, it was a very deep and creative moment for me. The pandemic had a strange effect on my thinking, it gave me more deepness and I remember in the middle of the pandemic a vision came to me, it was before I was going to fall asleep, my mind gave me a powerful image and a sense of understanding about the different scales micro-macro, human scale.

Q. What are your post-graduation plans?

A. Get funding to do my project Terras Lux, develop my project and try to get a chance in doing residencies to develop my practice on Bioart further. For the next phase of my project Terras Lux I am planning collaborations with scientists, especially microbiologists and soil scientists, also scientists interested in energy harvesting technology. My aim is to collaborate with the scientists and develop together an outcome that will be the result of mixing scientific research and creative intuition. My aim is to see and understand the limitless visions of possible futures through scientific inquiry and the power of creative intuition. The first step is to find a residency and funding that allow me to develop this research further.

See Audrey Rangel's work and go visit her class exhibition Virtual Ground.

Related Links:

• Follow Audrey on Instagram.
• See more of Audrey's work.
• UAL Graduate Showcase

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