Photo: Arantxa Araujo
Remoras
Arantxa Araujo & Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles Morel
Meeting place: you can send us off or walk with us. Meet us at the base of the post-industrial sculptures at the Concrete Park Plant / Bronx River between Westchester Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard. To access a map to this site, please click HERE
Two figures mimicking water creatures walk along the banks of the Bronx River, their shimmering outfits drawing attention to their mission to care for this ancient being and to invite others to do so. They task themselves with retrieving debris, fastening it to their bodies, and eventually using all items collected to generate a mandala. The action concludes with the recycling of this burdensome harvest. This artwork serves to raise awareness to consumption and its impact on aquatic ecosystems. It also raises questions as to what happens when previously out of reach areas, like some of those around the Bronx River, open up to the public and it realizes its responsibility for stewardship.
Remoras is an action which is part of Bodies of Water / Fluid Improvisations Along the Bronx River, a program conceived and produced by Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful, with individual actions co-created with Arantxa Araujo, Andrés Senra, Luis A., and Priscilla Marrero & Ferran Martin.
The series of actions is dedicated to the late Nancy Wallace. “She…[Nancy]…helped transform a watery graveyard for automobiles, tires and appliances into an urban greenbelt for New York City and Westchester County” The New York Times
About Bodies of Water/Fluid Improvisations Along the Bronx River points to the connections between bodies, as in human and non-human ones–such as Rivers–, as well as to concepts of interbeing, interconnectedness, and interdependence with all beings. Similarly, it brings to light ecological and social justice issues regarding colonial histories, environmental racism, and extractive capitalism while issuing a call for individual and collective stewardship and care for all bodies of Water. During four gatherings in different points along the Bronx River, improvisations centered on flow, water, compassion and deep listening are meant to unfold for invited participants, or perhaps unsuspecting audiences and wanderers attracted by a sight inspiring wonder and contemplation.
Bodies of Water/Fluid Improvisations Along the Bronx River / Background: The Bronx River has been a constant presence for Nicolás since he moved from the Dominican Republic to New York City in 1991. His first job was in the Fordham Road section with the Bronx River Restoration Project and it entailed engaging the aquatic subject through art classes. In 2011 he was baptized by Bill Aguado and Susan Newmark in Drew Gardens. The sacramental was water from the Bronx River and the intention was that of a rite of passage into Bronxhood. Three decades after his first connection with the Bronx, and in a rapidly gentrifying borough, Nicolás is proposing to approach the Bronx River from the perspective of elderhood and aging.
Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful was awarded a New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Support for Artists Grant (Bronx, NY) to support his creative work. Sponsored by The Action Lab, this award is funding Bodies of Water/Fluid Improvisations Along the Bronx River. Through New York State’s continued investment in arts and culture, NYSCA has awarded over $80 million since Spring 2023 to over 1,500 artists and organizations across the state.
Bodies of Water/Fluid Improvisations Along the Bronx River Ó 2022 Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful / with copyrights for individual actions equally shared with each collaborator.
Arantxa Araujo is a queer Mexican transdisciplinary artist with a background in neuroscience. Her work is fundamentally feminist and meditative, rooted in bio-behavioral research and technology. Araujo employs the metaphor of the neuron to explore the intricate connections surrounding the body, transforming incoming influences into video, photography, sculpture, and installation. Performance art serves as the core of her practice, processing and conveying complex information across neuroscience, biology, philosophy, spirituality, and cultural heritage. Addressing themes of identity, immigration, and community from a queer immigrant feminist perspective, Araujo challenges societal norms and advocates for diverse expressions. She highlights narratives of resilience and belonging, celebrating the transformative power of community and self-discovery. Her work has been exhibited at notable venues including the Brooklyn Museum, Leslie-Lohman Museum, Grace Exhibition Space, and The Queens Museum (NYC), as well as RAW and Satellite Art Fair (Miami), Illuminus Festival (Boston), and SPACE Gallery (Pittsburgh). Araujo has received numerous awards, including the Franklin Furnace Fund, BAC and LMCC grants, and support through residencies such as the Leslie-Lohman Museum Artist Fellowship. She holds an MA in Motor Learning and Control from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a BA in Theater Studies from Emerson College.
Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles Morel treads an elusive path that manifests itself performatively through creative experiences that he helps unfold within the quotidian. He has exhibited or performed at Madrid Abierto/ARCO, The IX Havana Biennial, PERFORMA 05/07/21, IDENSITAT, Prague Quadrennial, Pontevedra Biennial, Queens Museum, MoMA, Printed Matter, P.S. 122, Sculpture Center, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance BAAD!, Hemispheric Institute of Performance Art and Politics, City as Living Lab, Princeton University, Anthology Film Archives, El Museo del Barrio, Center for Book Arts, Longwood Art Gallery/BCA, The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Franklin Furnace, and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Nicolás has received mentorship in art in everyday life from Linda Mary Montano, a historic figure in the performance art field. Nicolás holds an MFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, where he studied with Coco Fusco; and an MA from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. He recently served as a Senior Lecturer and Social Practice Artist in Residence in the Art and Art History Department at The University of Texas, Austin; and was a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow in Washington DC. He is the founding director of The Interior Beauty Salon, an organism living at the intersection of creativity and healing. Born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, Nicolás was baptized as a Bronxite in 2011.