CRISTINA MOLINA
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A Soft Figure Shrouded in a Garden

A dual channel narrative prose that recounts the last lesson imparted to the artist by her late grandmother Berta Molina: "follow plants." Part eulogy and part grounding exercise, this work begs the question--how does one follow the guidance of plants amidst a winter landscape when they are sleeping? To make this work dried plant specimen were collected on long walks in the snow then burned in the studio to practice botanomancy, an ancient form of divination by reading images in smoke. This video exists as part of a growing "Herbarium" a collection of plant stories via moving images that weave story telling and botanical wisdom to safeguard inherited knowledge of plants and their teachings.

Installation sketches for dual channel video A Soft Figure Shrouded in a Garden.

A Soft Figure Shrouded in a Garden, 2024 - In Progress

A dual channel narrative prose that recounts the last lesson imparted to the artist by her late grandmother Berta Molina: "follow plants." Part eulogy and part grounding exercise, this work begs the question--how does one follow the guidance of plants amidst a winter landscape when they are sleeping? To make this work dried plant specimen were collected on long walks in the snow then burned in the studio to practice botanomancy, an ancient form of divination by reading images in smoke. This video exists as part of a growing "Herbarium" a collection of plant stories via moving images that weave story telling and botanical wisdom to safeguard inherited knowledge of plants and their teachings.