Amatlan , 1993
Site specific installation
The village of Amatlan is the birthplace of the Mexican version of the Quetzacoatl, at times a human prince but also a plumed serpent and god of knowledge and learning. Non-indigenous people in Mexico, and throughout the Americas, usually use the land as passage to somewhere else. In Amatlan, Alves wanted to work with our perceptions of time and space to create the possibilities of being in the land without the necessity of arriving at a point i.e. the top of the mountain. Alves placed some minimal sculptural elements scattered throughout the forest of Amatlan. Visitors from outside the village were invited to walk around, as the sculptures were purposefully minimalist, the forest soon attracted people to stroll without anxiety of being in a specific place.