Lynda Grafito (The Land Within Us)
Tell us more about yourself. What is your background?
I am a visual artist from Colombia, I love to experiment with different art techniques that is why recently my work looks so diverse, but my most important medium for my artistic production is drawing, that is why I use the word "Grafito" in my name, which in English means "graphite", because for me drawing is the basis of all my art; it is the way in which I can better organize my ideas.
Being in Minnesota has allowed me to connect through nature with my birth home, something that I had forgotten that my grandparents had taught me when I was a child; I observe, photograph and draw my surroundings, I inquire about species of plants, animals and the territory, I walk a lot through the parks and trails of Minnesota, and I am currently a member of a community garden, which has allowed me to get closer to the Latino community and understand their relationships with the land; all this has helped me develop my artistic production focused on the environment and memory.
How would you describe your art practice in three words?
Nature, observation, territory.
Please tell us about the artwork you are showing in The Land Within Us?
Hijos de la tierra (2021), 'Children of the Earth' the child is wrapped in a plantain tree leaf and sweet potato flower and leaves come out of his cradle, some plants that are cultivated and consumed in our territory. In this collage I thought of the coastal areas of my country, where mostly black communities work in the fields and fish; a connection with nature that many of us who live in the city cannot understand but, many of us try to recover our roots and understand that inseparable relationship that we have with the earth, because we are children of it. While making this collage I heard a song from Herencia de Timbiquí called 'Coca por coco', in which they made me question the importance of understanding our culture and customs; The song talks about the agrarian exploitation that exists in Colombia due to coca and marijuana monocultures, from which many communities are forced to cultivate and promote the disappearance of our endemic plants and ancestral knowledge.
Lost prairie (2021), this collage contains various types of wild flowers and pollinators belonging to the Minnesota territory that are at risk of disappearing due to the loss of their ecosystems; Previously, Minnesota was 33% prairie, which currently only represents 1%,
this is related to the expansion of human populations in the territory that contribute to the extermination of endemic plants and their pollinators, due to the uncontrolled use of pesticides and fungicides and incorporation of grass and non-native or invasive plants to the territory.
Hijos de la tierra and Lost prairie, have the same language, a mix between drawing and collage, graphite and color. They talk about two different territories but they have common problems: monocultures, exploitation of the land and loss of the ecosystem.
We belong to the world (2021), is a linocut that was part of a collective exhibition around Latino businesses on Lake Street for the Day of the Dead celebration. This poster represents the migration of human beings, through the Ruby Throated Hummingbird, which flies from Central America, passes through Minnesota and reaches Canada, its final destination; but which also represents the symbolic relationship that human beings have with plants, in this migration route, the Zinnias represent the south and the Echinaceas the north.
Translation of the poster: "We belong to the world. We have come here to build a new and worthy future. We won't give up. In community we will grow until we blooming."
This poster will only be available in the gallery gift shop*
Where can we find more of your artwork online?
You can see more of my artwork on my Instagram: @lyndagrafito