Guatú Nakán
Process photo from Jorge González Santos, Iboguaní Acosta and collaborators, Guatú Nakán, 2023. Photograph by Sarah Patterson and the artist.
Jorge González Santos
Guatú Nakán
February 22 – August 11, 2024
Guatú Nakán is a new commission by Jorge González Santos that makes visible ancestral and artistic inheritances. Its title means “in the middle of the fire” in the Taíno language. For the commission, González Santos collaborated closely with Iboguaní Acosta and a network of ceramicists. Together, they conducted a series of communal pottery workshops across Borikén (Puerto Rico), using ancestral methods to create contemporary vessels in dialogue with the Taíno ceramics on view in Ocama Aracoel, a section of Something Beautiful: Reframing La Colección.
Spanning traditional iconographies, the ceramics were made with clay gathered from the historically and politically significant sites of Canóvanas, Morovis, and Vieques. The workshops took place in July, September, and October of 2023 at La Colmena Cimarrona, an apiary and agroecological project anchored in land restoration and food sovereignty, and at The Ramp House, a ceramic studio.
The following individuals and organizations participated in the workshop series:
Daniel Mautiatihuel Guayacán Silva Pagán
Alice Chéveres
Jorge González Santos
Luis Gabriel Sanabria
Santiago Alvarez
Iboguaní Acosta
Jordán Coaturey Acosta
Myrna Pagán
Candis Dixon
Niko Blando
Amelia Lee
Eira Rodriguez
Johanna Camacho
Dara Velázquez
Betty Lopez
Lisa Nikini Inarú
Ileana Sánchez Márquez
Diana Ramos Gutiérrez
Ana Elisa Pérez Quintero
Ilandra Guadalupe
Irka Mateo
Dimaris Acosta
Edwin Torres
Leo González
Sarah Patterson
Alejandra Domínguez
Acción Vincular
Embajada
Escuela de Oficios
La Colmena Cimarrona
Archivo Histórico de Vieques
Taller Guayacán
Taller Cabachuelas
The Ramp House
Oro Workspace Vieques
