ALLIGA

SFER IK Museion, the premier destination for contemporary art in Tulum and Francisco Uh May, Mexico, presents ALLIGA, an exhibition curated by Claudia Paetzold, Curator and Artistic Director, featuring works by Cecilia Bengolea, Aki Inomata, Sissel Tolaas, and Ernesto Neto, now on view at SFER IK in Francisco Uh May through January 31, 2020. ALLIGA, from the Latin alligare, represents an invitation to connect, engage, and commit akin to a categorical imperative. The exhibition is an immersive experience that through evolutionary aesthetics explores the pressing issue of seaweed proliferation in the Caribbean and its underlying ecological and evolutionary factors.

Roth, Founder of SFER IK, noted: “SFER IK is an interdisciplinary creative sphere fostering an insightful dialogue on environmental topics where contemporary art and performance operate as catalysts for change. With ALLIGA, the Museion continues to expand its mission of meaningfully articulating artistic creation and nature through holistic experiences.”

Paris-based Argentinian artist Cecilia Bengolea’s commissioned dance performance óok’ot ha’, Mayan for dance with the sea, mimics the tides and shifts of the ocean and its flora, ultimately inviting the audience to embrace the movement as a distinct, cognitive approach. Bengolea’s clay sculptures, produced with SFER IK’s ceramic workshop and which reference species of seaweed, fantastical creatures inhabiting the pelagic patches, and bats, transform the exhibition space into an immersive aquatic sphere.

Japanese artist Aki Inomata presents her acclaimed video piece Think Evolution #1: Kiku-ishi (Ammonite), 2016–17, previously on view at the Triennale di Milano, Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival. The piece features a cephalopod inhabiting a 3D-printed replica of an ammonite shell, operating as a metaphor for a possible symbiotic relationship between man and nature.

Norwegian artist Sissel Tolaas’s site-specific olfactory installation, sarGASsum_2019, contains smell molecules from algae collected along the Riviera Maya and replicated through a sophisticated process in her studio in Berlin. The artist seeks to open a different channel of perception through a sense that is rarely activated in contemporary art.

Ernesto Neto completes the experience with his permanent installation Every Tree Is a Civilizing Entity, a delicately woven cotton crochet tree reaching seven meters high that was initially on view at Conjunctions, the inaugural exhibition of SFER IK in Francisco Uh May. Its continued presence in ALLIGA points to the deforestation of the Amazon as a cause for seaweed proliferation and prompts viewers to experience the creative sphere as a new evolutionary space.

As part of ALLIGA’s opening events on September 4–6, interdisciplinary workshops were held at SFER IK in Tulum and Francisco Uh May that explored the recrudescence of seaweed in the Caribbean and its environmental impacts, further highlighting ALLIGA’s multi-faceted, experiential emphasis. Events were attended by over 100 invited guests, and included a reconnection soirée on the eve of the opening and a bespoke tour of Alchemistry, the current exhibition at SFER IK in Tulum with works by Kelly Akashi, Bianca Bondi, and Rochelle Goldberg. The experience culminated in the presentation of an action plan to contain the seaweed’s environmental impact and undertake creative repurposing of this new natural resource, as well as addressing larger themes of humanity’s role in sustainability.

About SFER IK
SFER IK Museion is an interdisciplinary creative sphere comprising exhibitions of some of the world’s finest visual artists, cutting-edge artisanal workshops linking ancestral practices with avant-garde techniques and visionary design, and innovative artist residencies focusing on integrative projects that culminate in new ways of experiencing and creating art. SFER IK enables local communities to access the creative sphere through dedicated workshops and educational programming. SFER IK contributes to the protection of the environment by furthering sustainability through meaningful travel focused on art and other cultural engagement.

SFER IK in Tulum
Carretera Tulum Ruinas Km 5, Zona Hotelera
77780 Tulum, Mexico 
Hours: 10am–10pm

SFER IK in Francisco Uh May
Grulla 23 Francisco Uh May 
77796 Francisco Uh May, Mexico 
Hours: 12–6pm