Maria Paris Borda

works

Figs – Part II is the second iteration of a series of works around the breva, a fruit that comes from the same tree as the fig but grows in different seasons. In this piece, multiple reproductions of a fig cast in plaster are placed on a found material—a golden insulation underfloor. They are situated exactly under a skylight so the light is reflected on the surface, and gold is reflected on the figs. Because in Colombia there are no seasons, figs don’t grow there. However, a fruit called breva is harvested from the same tree but grows in different seasons. In most places of Europe, brevas are considered unedible as they are deemed not ripe enough to eat. This piece explores the slight difference in notion between breva and fig. The piece mirrors the relationship between word and fruit: The casting technique replicates through the failure of being exact. There will always be a distance between the original object and the casting. This project became almost an insistence on casting the error rather than the original fruit—the idea of two translations, two fruits, not quite fitting. The fig will continue to be cast until the mold breaks.