‘Elemental’, Pamela Suasti’s first solo show in Guayaquil

The artist’s first individual exhibition Pamela Suasti, 31 years oldopened days ago in Casa del Barrio (St Panama and Juan Montalvo).

“The encounter with soft matter calls me to daily learning, to repetition and the urge to master, the fibers have become a language of introspection, creation and transformation of the present and reality. The hands are the essential instrument of this process, through them chaos is channeled, it is in contact with matter that new paths are opened for travel. I believe in tissue as a great innate ability given to us for transformation”, he notes.

Why weave as your form of artistic expression?

I’ve been knitting for about ten years and it was my grandmother who first taught me how to crochet and then I started experimenting. And I chose it because I felt it was a language that allowed me to connect with myself and with the world through patience and also through the frustration of learning, because it’s not always that easy. And at the same time it allows me to connect with contemporary art and its languages. and feel that connection I’ve never felt with painting, drawing or sculpting. I felt that the material is my language and I have not let go of it.

What is the concept behind the performance ‘Elemental’?

Elementary It is a first stage of exercising being involved in this new materiality that is felt, a textile possibility that generates a lot of volume and other possibilities in textile techniques that I had not yet experienced. It is an exploration of matter as well as of the circular form and all that this form entails in symbolic terms and all the meanings it has. Also as a philosophical and spiritual search axis. I test my limits and Elementary it’s all that came out of experimenting with this technique.

How do you feel about opening your first solo show in Guayaquil?

I feel like it’s small steps that consolidate one’s trajectory. Also being very exposed to the world, to criticism, to what people think of your work, on the one hand is a very vulnerable moment, but on the other hand there is a huge emotion. It is like giving birth to a child and waiting for it to meet the world. And it’s also an engine to keep making new searches and keep working on art, that’s the passion I have.

How is it designed and how many parts does it consist of?

It consists of more or less four installations and each installation has several pieces. One is a hanging installation called Endless Shape. There are two opposing installations called Forma and movimiento, more static but visually playing with optics. Another contains several objects that are material experiments related to the deformation of form, and a fourth installation combines felt with vegetable fibers. It’s a very dynamic tour.

What are your next projects as an artist?

In June, together with four artists and craftsmen, I organized an exhibition in Paris for the Biennial for Crafts and Contemporary Creation. And there is also an invitation to an Ibero-American festival in Spain.

What can visitors expect from ‘Elemental’?

They will have a different experience of textiles than a materiality that has not been so explored. And I would say they will also enjoy a different approach to art that moves away from traditional painting and drawing and find materials that are perhaps closer to humanity.