A 60-hour audio recording of a mother birthing her daughter, as well as an interactive piece that asked attendees how they had cared for someone that day, are some works currently on display in the K Building Art Gallery.
Created by two mother and daughter duos, these works are part of the gallery’s latest exhibit “Natural Encounters,” which serves to represent sustainability while also pushing for social change.
Mothers and daughters share a very special bond, and these artists created pieces of work that represent how each of them influence the other throughout their creative process.
Students Amber Wilkerson (left) and Samantha Flores listen to the sounds of what it is like to be inside the womb which was recorded from Montejo’s own labor. (Samantha Navarro)
Artist Carolina Montejo, and her 11-year-old daughter, Olivia Utt-Montejo were both at the opening ceremony and shared the context behind much of their work, especially when it came to the piece that drew eyes from all around the room.
The art piece was a collaboration between all four artists and consisted of multiple toys, clothing, and other recycled objects from Utt-Montejo’s childhood.
These objects were arranged to resemble her room as she’s grown up, with the addition of an old television that played back a video with her responses on war, peace and freedom.
Hanging above the piece in plastic bags were repurposed childhood drawings which were hung up to resemble clouds in order to draw into the sustainability aspect of their art.
Art Gallery Manager Karla Aguiniga explained how the piece represented the little world that the four artists created in response to what Utt-Montejo spoke about in the video.
“If we want to get out of this destructive capitalist cycle that’s destroying the environment, we have to be nurturing,” said Aguiniga.
Olivia Utt-Montejo is only 11 years old, yet she had so much to say in regard to her mother’s art and all the pieces that she helped create.
“I really do love art, both physical pieces and music, I’m actually learning to play the guitar right now. I just love helping my mom and giving her my own ideas that she can combine with her work,” said Utt-Montejo.
This series of photos were taken from security footage of a local store that mother and daughter, Ana Andrade and Yatzil Uc Andrade would walk past everyday on their way to and from school. These images alongside other art pieces were showcased as part of the Natural Encounters Art Gallery. (Samantha Navarro)
Alongside the artwork was a video that played an adaptation of Utt-Montejo’s favorite childhood lullabies, “Los Pollitos” which is about a mother hen caring for her newborn chicks.
The idea of mothering was a very important aspect of the exhibition, and one interactive piece that catered to this idea was labeled, “How have you mothered today?”
Artist Carolina Montejo explained the piece in a concise yet comprehensible phrase in which she said, “What have you mothered? Mothering is genderless, mothering isn’t familiar.”
The initially blank piece was accompanied by a table filled with different colored pencils and sheets of paper that allowed visitors to draw examples of how they “mothered” that day, which were all eventually taped onto the wall.
This was meant to emphasize how characteristics of being a mother do not need to coincide with having a child of your own nor being a certain gender, some examples displayed were the watering of plants and even nurturing oneself.
Montejo also displayed the 60-hour recording from her labor, allowing people to listen and understand what it is like to be in the womb.
Montejo considers the recording to be her very first collaboration with her daughter.
Another piece in the gallery consists of multiple pieces of paper, each one organized by the written timestamps.
Lolita Mojica, a volunteer at the opening reception, explained that the timestamps were used to mark each time the artist was having a contraction during her labor.
“You can see how the pain progressed as the coloring on the pages got more chaotic and aggressive,” Mojica said.
The exhibition served to portray the idea of ecofeminism as a non-hierarchical subject that the world should be working together to achieve, rather than having adults take change,
It is important to take into account the knowledge that comes from the children of the world alongside nature.
“The opinion of an 11-year-old is as valid as a 90-year-old. It is important to make nature as valid as humans,” said Aguiniga.
Update: A link to the video in which Utt-Montejo responds thoughtfully to questions about peace, war, and liberation has been added to this article.