In Person: Ikamo Tlalli—Earthless by Mónica Alcázar-Duarte

An isolated volcanic island in the Atlantic Ocean embodies in its soil the early ambitions of scientific experiments with nature and space exploration. Yet, these very experiments—heralded as pioneers in the establishment of scientific knowledge—are derived from traumatic histories of colonisation, which have left a deep impact on not just human histories but the biodiversity of the island itself.

Mónica Alcázar-Duarte is a Mexican-British artist whose work acknowledges her indigenous heritage while exploring current ideals of progress. In her ongoing engagement with space exploration, Alcázar-Duarte contends with Western ideals of modernity and their preoccupation with accelerated “progress” through the mediums of film, photography and augmented reality. Her three-channel video Ikamo Tlalli – Earthless (2021) is a part of the fifth iteration of Photo Kathmandu in 2023 (PhotoKTM5). Narrated in her family’s indigenous Mexican Nahuatl language, Alcázar-Duarte juxtaposes the capitalist impulse toward accumulation, speed and expansion against the feeling of contentment, of accepting and taking care of what we already have.  Using the site of Ascension Island, Alcázar-Duarte draws a fitting comparison between the terraforming of planet Mars and the early experiments at Ascension Island.

Ascension Island became a subject of fascination after 1836, when a young Charles Darwin described it as “arid” and “treeless.” Subsequently, in 1843, it became the site for a significant ecological experiment. Under the tutelage of Darwin and effected by Joseph Hooker, foreign flora and fauna were “introduced” to the island in order to make it hospitable for the increasing colonial settlements in the area.

The island also saw inroads into explorations of astronomy in the nineteenth century. In 1887, David and Isobel Gill stayed on the island for six months to trace the position of Mars in relation to the Earth’s distance with the help of a heliometer. The island was also briefly used as an air base by American Allied forces during the Second World War. Amidst the Space Race and Cold War tensions, it was used by NASA as a tracking station from 1967 until 1990. To this day, the island is home to space agency interests as it is used for safe launches and deep space surveillance. 

In Ikamo-Tlalli, Alcázar-Duarte dons the figure of the Beekeeper, dressed in bright red and disrupting the green and earth-hued camouflage around her. The outfit of the Beekeeper directly references—and contradicts—the figure of the astronaut, from the headgear and slow motions effected through seemingly alien landscapes to the very figure of the beekeeper itself. In this conversation, Alcázar-Duarte explains her research process and continued engagement with space exploration in her practice. She highlights the importance of decentring Western modes of knowledge production while contending with colonial histories. The artist also references the importance of Nahuatl in the work and the urgent need to seek out alternate ways of existence. 

^{(Featured image: Ikamo Tlalli – Earthless [2021] by Mónica Alcázar-Duarte.)}

^{Conversation recorded on 25 February 2023.} 

ASAP | art attended the opening weekend of the PhotoKTM5, where spoke with Ganga Limbu and Kishor K. Sharma about their works on display. Srizu Bajracharya wrote on the power of fostering community, as poignantly depicted in Fazal Rizvi and Aziz Sohail’s lecture performance. Lastly, revisit Anisha Baid's essay on the online iteration of The Skin of Chitwan, which is on display for the first time in its physical form this year at the festival. 

All images from Ikamo Tlalli – Earthless (2021) by Mónica Alcázar-Duarte, courtesy of the artist.