CHINAMPAS

Sometime ago I made my first Chinampa in bronze. Bit by bit the idea evolved into series of sculptures and related works, exploring different aspects of the theme. The idea of the Chinampas - constructed islands, floating gardens - seemed in an odd way to relate to certain premises of Action Painting in which the surface of the painting is conceived as an area or arena on which the act of painting takes place The paint itself becomes the testimony of what has happened - a manifestation of the event. Evidence of a poetic act. The edges of the canvas define the area of the action, circumscribed like an island.

The Chinampas of Xochimilco are also a specific area in which an event takes place - in this case, agriculture. Things are laid out and cultivated. Sometimes a smal temple or an altar is erected. In these sculptures I have used the format of these little man-made islands; but in this case what happens on them is an evocation of forms, spaces, shapes - some organic: pods, plants seeds, roots - others more architectonic -ramps, paths, mounds, enclosures.

The wall pieces evoke an aerial view of the Chinamitl; woven mats made of reeds and rushes used to start the construction of the Chinampa.

The sculptures are, in a sense, landscapes. But they are enclosed landscapes. These sculpture/islands are set on bases of dark mirror. Floating reflections. The memory of the water surrounds a sculptural event.

Brian Nissen.