For the Mexican Pavilion in the 23rd Triennale Milano International Exhibition, Daniel Godínez Nivón, an artist interested in the knowledge of indigenous peoples, presents Essay on Oneiric Flora, a work that brings imaginary plants to life with the help of technology and science. We interviewed him to learn more about his practice and its relationship with the themes of the 23rd International Exhibition.

The relationship between art and the public is fundamental in Daniel Godínez Nivón’s work, and his project at the Triennale is a perfect example of that approach. Specifically, Essay on Oneiric Flora is the product of a workshop held with a group of girls from the Yolia Orphanage in Mexico City, with whom the artist led weekly sessions of meditation, drawing and writing, aimed at sharing their dreams of plants and natural landscapes. Entitled Oneirical Propaedeutic, the workshop took inspiration from the tradition of midwives of the Triqui indigenous community of San Juan Copala in the state of Oaxaca in south-west Mexico, for whom dreams are a source for both learning and teaching. After two years of work, the team expanded to include botanists and scientific illustrators, who created 3D models and animations of this dream flora.

 Daniel, how important is it for you to involve other people in your artistic process?
It’s essential! I began developing this open approach to public involvement during my college years, leading up to the Tequiografías project (2010 – ongoing), created in collaboration with the Indigenous Migrant Assembly (AMI) of Mexico City. Through that experience, I learned to work according to the methodology and ethic of tequio, a concept of Mexican indigenous peoples referring to voluntary collective work for the common good. The tequio can take a variety of forms, such as fixing up a dilapidated building or painting the walls of a childcare center. I am particularly interested in the creativity that a practice of this type can release, and in its relational aspect. In this context, my role as an artist is to serve as a bridge or a means to reflect on the languages with which knowledge is transmitted. Getting back to the work presented in the Triennale, I sometimes think of my artistic practice as a greenhouse full of many different plants, where complex, almost alchemical, transformations take place through a process requiring suitable materials and conditions. In a favorable environment, the plants manage to live together and intermingle. I see that as a metaphor for my relationship with the public: I am open to grafts coming from outside. My ideas need more ideas, and those ideas in turn probably benefit from mine, a bit like what happens with pollen mixing in the spring, generating ever stronger, more successful natural varieties.