The Origin and End of Things - Jimena Nieto

The origin and the end of things.

December 7, 2024 to March 4, 2025 Photography: Maximiliano Barrera Editing: Alejandro Alarcón In nature, all matter is part of an infinite cycle that renews itself. We are part of a whole that dies and is reborn again and again to give rise to new life. We are mortal beings, made of stardust, that evolved from creatures that emerged from the depths of the water and from microorganisms that developed in the darkness. Our presence is transient, but our actions generate effects that remain throughout time, even after our existence. I always believed that Pachamama is the first artist and the place from which all things originate: where we come from and where we go. She is an abundance of possibilities and, at the same time, a source of resources and raw materials for the production of objects, disposable products, and gadgets that, after reaching the end of their useful life, return to the earth. There they lie buried in pits, piled up in heaps, on the outskirts of cities, in the middle of deserts, in rivers, and finally, in the sea. Where I come from, the wind blows and carries away papers, bags, and bottles; sometimes even roofs. The wind drags them aimlessly, as if disappearing into nowhere, until they end up among the branches of a creosote bush or a broom shrub. Now, these things are part of the landscape; they build it. Plastic, as the quintessential material of our time, completely invades our lives and appears in the environment as humanity's footprint on nature. Jimena Nieto, December 2024