Growing up in the mountains will freeze the ambition out of you, or burn it into your bones. I left certain of one thing — any encounter worth having would not pass me by. That certainty carried me back and forth across my continent of birth and eventually away from it — landing finally in Valencia, Spain, just as the world closed its doors. What followed was six years of the most focused work of my life — made in near total isolation, often for no audience, with no market in mind and no plan except to follow the vein of gold as long as it continues to yield. Natural History is that work. Close to 400 pieces, each cast from the bodies of real women — every part and every pore, every curve, scar, line and mark of a life lived, preserved permanently in resins, clays and various materials. Each woman personally introduced to the project, personally selected, and compensated for her time and dedication. Each body entirely her own — tal como la naturaleza la creó. The women are the core of this project. Without their energy, without their authenticity and most importantly, without their trust, none of it would be possible. The studio became its own world — a space where the usual rules of polite distance dissolved. Conversations that rarely happen organically between strangers happened there as a matter of course: body image, societal pressure, sexuality, identity. The project provided the structure. The studio, the catalyst. The women brought everything else. --- El.Mago.Libre Valencia — 2020-