Tapery (2016)
Gummed paper tape, Water.
Not for sale.
Made during the GDA Summer Session at La Casa de El Hijo del Ahuizote, Mexico City.
What would Calle Colombia be without tape?
Tape is an important but subtle thing that supports the informal economy in the area of Centro Historico, Mexico City. Behind all the Chinese products sold on this street hides an intricate system of tape. Market stands are held together with tape, chairs of shop owners and street vendors contain more tape than padding. At the end of the day, when the market is broken down, the sound of unwinding tape fills the street. Tape gives people the power to prolong the life of the products they own and make adjustments as they please. Tapery reflects on the beauty and diversity that is hidden in a single roll of tape. Instead of being the secondary material that is attached to other products, it has claimed a life of its own. Tapery proposes an experimental form of pottery in which gummed tape is transformed into a series of speculative objects with the help of hands and water. Instead of baking the finished shape in the oven, the shape can be fixed by water. Clay makes place for tape, heat for water. A speculative landscape of objects arises. Whatever use or function these objects may have, the answer lies within our imagination. Tapery aims to unlock the imaginary potential and value of an everyday, seemingly worthless product, but is above all a celebration of inventiveness that is so omnipresent in the street life of Calle Colombia.
