MOHO

Rainy season 2020, Costa Rica. Bread and homemade plant inks + time. I’ve always had a hard time letting go. I am originally from Minnesota. A place where your history matters. People preserve food in jars and last names via getting married and having children. I took a lot of comfort in collecting things, storing things and saving things to use at a later date. I had a rude awakening upon moving to Costa Rica. During the rainy season, the humidity and mold would eat away at all of my belongings. Nothing was spared, including my cameras and passport. I fought with all of my might to protect my things from the mold, called moho in Spanish, but nothing worked. After time I got very used to saying goodbye to things. I would buy things knowing that they may not make it even until the end of the week. The way I approached buying and keeping things dramatically changed and I ended up using my items rather than storing them away for a later date. I still had a hard time with the mold though and while making my portfolio I really struggled with trying to create art that wouldn’t get ruined by the elements. Eventually one day I decided to give up. Instead of fighting the mold I worked with it. This is a piece where I really allowed the mold to do its thing. I used freshly sliced bread and raw inks I created with fruits and vegetables to create quilted pieces that were intended to get moldy. The goal was to see what new beautiful and interesting colors and textures the mold would provide these works. During the making of this piece I found myself hoping and praying for mold and humidity. It was fun to experience this twist in perspective and to enjoy my new flexibility. MOHO is all about non attachment and enjoying the present.