Reading our Minds, in Bright Pigments: Reinventing a Frontier Neighborhood in Mexico City
”. . . In Mexico, we have access to so many amazing pigments. For example, the tiny beetles called cochinillas that grow on the local cactus. These insects bring us the iconic reds and pinks and purples of Mexico. Also, a big favorite is the deep blue created with the pure Mayan Indigos. Knowing that natural dyes and textile processes are both fragile and fleeting mediums, we embark on this journey knowing that we have a lifetime of learning ahead of us.”
INTERVIEW WITH THE ARTIST JASMINE CADENHEAD
Artist JASMINE CADENHEAD
LES COULEURS: At Les Couleurs, we believe in the transformative and universal power of art. How did it all start for you with your background in Art Therapy?
JASMINE CADENHEAD: This topic is very close to my heart. I have worked for many years in various mental health fields but it wasn't until I began my journey to becoming an Art Therapist that I really understood how art can heal. It is more than creating something beautiful to hang on a wall; more than spreading paint on a canvas. It is an act of expression. Art tells a story when words fail and in trauma recovery, there are often no words, but with the images, color textures, and patterns we have access to so much information and wisdom from the body. The beauty of art is that anyone can create it. Through my work with various wellness centers, I have come to witness firsthand the impact of art both culturally and psychologically. I have been fortunate to live in a community that supports healing through many types of art. Having creatives in a community enriches it. Equally, teaching children to create and value art enriches their lives, and when art is done with an Art Therapist it allows children to share their stories safely, allowing growth, transformation, and the rewiring of old thought patterns.
LC: Tell us about your new project?
JC: My business partner Mimi Dang and I have started a project called DESCANSA, translating to rest well, that embodies everything we love about self-care and textiles. We value ideas and lifestyle patterns rooted in slowing down and finding true restful moments in your days, as well as using textiles as part of our everyday rituals of self-care. We believe textiles are an intimate part of our daily life and can be true tools for resting well. We have fallen in love with textiles and naturals dyes through our play and experimentation with all things foraged and found. In Mexico, we have access to so many amazing pigments. For example, the tiny beetles called cochinillas that grow on the nopal cactus. These insects bring us the iconic reds and pinks and purples of Mexico. Also, a big favorite is the deep blues created with the pure Mayan Indigos. Knowing that natural dyes and textile processes are both fragile and fleeting mediums, we embark on this journey knowing that we have a lifetime of learning ahead of us. But we hope to connect people with an understanding of the benefits of their well-being, slow moments, and what natural color represents. Working only with local women, from seamstresses to pigment experts, we are slowing but with great excitement building a team of empowered women. Our linen bedding will be available early next year, follow our journey @descansamx.
Artist grinding up some Zapotec indigo to prepare a dye bath.
White Cochineal beetles drying on Nopal cactus. These insects are a traditional way of obtaining brilliant reds, pinks, and purple. The above photo is from the Porfirio Gutierrez Family textile workshop based in Oaxaca.
Photo the artist’s hand dyed wool using pure Zapotec Indigo.
In artist’s studio in Mexico City.
LC: Our mission at Les Couleurs is to inspire, educate, and empower disadvantaged children through arts education. What advice would you give (very) young art students?
JC: As adults, we believe we have to have a huge moment of inspiration or a history of being really creative to paint or do art. The belief that we need to be in a special state to create is deeply ingrained conditioning. No matter what state you’re in, there is potential for creating something. Kids never worry about this! So my advice would be this: keep creating every day without a plan, without fear or self-judgment (takes practice as we age), and never stop creating. To do the simplest things with integrity - a point, a line, a scribble, a rough image - is the most creative response you can make.
Trust in your own process, that is to say, it’s the process of making the actual art and not the end result that's important, that’s where the magic lies. This is why I love the Les Couleurs Charity so much, as an entity you understand that we offer so much when providing children with art materials, like the power to connect with self and others, and it’s not simply about art skills, but about life skills.
LC: Tell us what appeals to you most in the current Mexico City art scene.
JC: Even with the difficulties, Covid has brought to all our lives, I feel there's still a thriving community here in Mexico. I feel our community has come together to support each other and think outside the box for alternative ways to exhibit our work during these difficult times.
I was also lucky to be exhibited recently at Jumex during a collaboration with Mexico Vivo, where over 180 artists donated work to directly fund programs to support people living with HIV Aids, and at-risk-youth right here in the city. There's no doubt a supportive community of artists exists here in Mexico City. Yet one of the most interesting ways to experience art here is simply reaching out to your favorite artists, they will often open up their studios, invite you in for private viewing, and of course, a mezcal or two.
LC: What are you working on now?
JC: In an attempt to further expand on my natural pigment studies, I began to look at the history of textile dying in Mexico. I began to experiment with how the pigments and resins become the co-creator of the piece. By suspending hand-dyed linens and then casting them in resin cubes, I hope to illuminate the tactile extractions of traditional Mexican dye baths.
These cubes sculptures are rooted in one essential element which is color, specifically the color red. Red in Mexico being the quintessential color, the archetypal color, the first of all the colors, with its great number of symbolic meanings, is the platform to explore both sacred and secular practices of how color has been used through history.
The first of these series of cubes was recently exhibited at Jumex, Mexico City, and is shown in the photo below.
JASMINE CADENHEAD
From the artist’s archives
JASMINE CADENHEAD
From the artist’s archives
JASMINE CADENHEAD
From the artist’s archives
JASMINE CADENHEAD
From the artist’s archives
JASMINE CADENHEAD
From the artist’s archives
