Baja California Sur (BCS) is the driest state in Mexico and dependent on rainfall. Locally, it is said that the water does not come from the faucet, it comes from the mountain. Eighty percent of BCS rainwater evaporates, five percent is, run off, to the arroyos and only the remaining fifteen percent seeps into the ground to infiltrate and recharge its aquifers. Forty seven percent of Mexicans do not have consistent access to drinking water even though access to water for personnel and domestic use is a right guaranteed in Article 4 of the Mexican constitution.
For these paintings I have restricted my use of tap water for mixing the pigments painting the land and any suggestion of vegetation. All the blues representing the bodies of water have been diluted with ‘water’ collected from the Gulf of California. Hopefully this is a small gesture respecting the perilous nature of every drop and the bodies of water they collect in.
Much of my recent work addresses precarious bodies of water that have severe impacts on history, culture and community. Water’s authenticity stretches the gamut, from its molecular foundation to the largest ecosystems sustaining public health. Each cell or square is an authentic microcosm of water’s interface with the whole. I hope my process demonstrates how ounces, literally drops, can go far in portraying the variable interface between land and water with empirical creativity.
Randal Nichols
810-623-1732
randyrnichols@hotmail.com