The heat prays, the heat murmers: field notes by David and Amauta
For the exhibition shadow circuits , MaMA developed a field research publication in collaboration with program maker Ruby Reding. This publication brings together various background stories and research methodsthat delve deeper into the artworks on display during the exhibition. Field research, in a creative sense, is closely tied to a geographical location and involves a wide range of ways of observing and interpreting, such as writing poetry, taking photographs, and recording sound with a recorder.
The publication is available for purchase in our showroom for €2.50 and features contributions from all the shadow circuit’s artists: Matteo Bettini, Amauta García and David Camargo, Kyra Nijskens, Nabila Ernada, and Á. Birna Björnsdóttir. With a foreword by r Ruby Reding.
A trace, a warmth
no space
no place
no territory is empty
Stories have always been told around the fire
in the cities
in the rooms
spirits still live
The warmth has listened to our stories for thousands of years
a trace to find one another
to measure the damage
to feel out a mutual time,
To not forget
a synchrony
between human times
and the times of the Earth
a trace, a warmth
Follow the pipes to listen to the stories of extraction and resistance
the gas speaks in the form of heat
in a thermal camera, this tongue is translated
into vivid colors,
in our bodies, it is translated
into tenderness
More than 89,214 km of pipelines reach Europe from Algeria, the North Sea, Russia…
the warmth prays
the gas
murmurs its time
20,000 km of pipelines in Mexico import and export gas from the USA
a warmth
an earth word
Ships leave the Gulf of Mexico for Europe, carrying gas extracted by fracking in the USA
to step,
to caress
what dissipates
Gas extracted from Indigenous nations Gitxsan, Sandía…
follow the pipes,
caress
a constant pain
… transported through Wixárika,Hñähñu territories…
a trace
a warmth
the gas speaks through the pipes radiates
Homes of spirits,
it has crossed
wars, sacrifice zones
mines, monocultures
and now it is here
speaking through the heater
of Naxnok, of Tatéi Haramara, of Kha…
the gas murmurs
prays
the spirits of the Earth
are stepping
softly
in the room
A trace, a warmth
*The Gitxsan indigenous nation in British Columbia (Canada), the Sandía Pueblo in New Mexico (USA), and the Wixárika and Hñähñu peoples in San Luis Potosí and Hidalgo (Mexico) are some of the indigenous peoples that have organized against the extraction and transportation of natural gas in their territories.
Amauta García and David Camargo are interdisciplinary artists living and working between the Netherlands and Mexico. Their practice is grounded in action-oriented research and collaboration, exploring overlaps between architecture, sculpture, moving image, and storytelling. Their work focuses on untold stories of urban extractivism, migration, and environmental impacts in overexploited areas. They have exhibited and held residencies across the Americas and Europe, produced public art commissions, and presented their film work at international festivals, combining art, education, and community-based processes.
shadow circuits explores how gas, minerals and other raw materials move around the world and how these elemental flows are connected with our day-to-day lives. The exhibition shifts our attention from large-scale industrial images, such as sea containers in the Rotterdam harbour, to small and intimate stories—to people, plants and animals that slip through the cracks of global trade flows, such as ghost laborers on palm oil fields and invasive species caught on ships. In this way, shadow circuits bridges the gap between the unquestioned everyday use of mineral resources and the painfully hidden history of extraction and transport.
