^
Maria Chenut in her studio in Vilar, a small village in the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela, where she has lived for almost 13 years.
MOVE
“Change is the only constant” Heraclitus
The only constant in the human condition is change; it is part of our essence.
Change. Transformation. Move. Evolution. Movement. Emotion.
Move is a visual and spatial exploration of a real move. After living 13 years in Galicia, Maria is moving back to
the USA and this decision immerses her in the exercise of organizing, selecting and reflecting on everything
she possesses. As a collector, as a gatherer and as an artist, she faces a complicated decision: she has to
choose what to take with her, what to leave behind, and what to throw away.
Every move we make is loaded with great symbolic and emotional significance, which is very difficult to
describe. All moves emerge from a need for change, in contrast to our daily routines; they imply a total break
with our current lives.
Move is synonymous of review, re-organization, re-structuring and transformation, not only of your things, but
also of your emotions, your achievements, your failures and your aspirations.
Although objects are inanimate, nevertheless, they are brought to life when they form a part of a persons’ space.
Your objects portray you, they characterise you, they accompany you, they affect you and they express more
about you than ever words can say. Objects are charged with emotions and gravitate in our personal universe
bringing value and sense to all that surround us.
The only constant in the human condition is change; it is part of our essence.
Change. Transformation. Move. Evolution. Movement. Emotion.
Move is a visual and spatial exploration of a real move. After living 13 years in Galicia, Maria is moving back to
the USA and this decision immerses her in the exercise of organizing, selecting and reflecting on everything
she possesses. As a collector, as a gatherer and as an artist, she faces a complicated decision: she has to
choose what to take with her, what to leave behind, and what to throw away.
Every move we make is loaded with great symbolic and emotional significance, which is very difficult to
describe. All moves emerge from a need for change, in contrast to our daily routines; they imply a total break
with our current lives.
Move is synonymous of review, re-organization, re-structuring and transformation, not only of your things, but
also of your emotions, your achievements, your failures and your aspirations.
Although objects are inanimate, nevertheless, they are brought to life when they form a part of a persons’ space.
Your objects portray you, they characterise you, they accompany you, they affect you and they express more
about you than ever words can say. Objects are charged with emotions and gravitate in our personal universe
bringing value and sense to all that surround us.
^
Maria’s living room throughout all the stages it went through during her “move” process.
^
Maria always loved to live surrounded by her books, her objects, her souvenirs, her plants. Her objects have accompanied her along her journey.
^
Before her departure, she decided to set up a bazaar in her home with all the belongings that she would not need anymore in the future. One month before leaving,
she organised a market with clothes, books and art materials among other things.
she organised a market with clothes, books and art materials among other things.
^
Maria’s living room when she left, with some objects she left behind. This is the last image she saw of her living room.
^
Objects that portray and accompany Maria wherever she goes.
^
Maria is a set and clothing designer for theatre, among other things, and she decided to set up a clothes market before her departure. She has sold, given away,
and exchanged lots of her possessions that now belong to other people.
and exchanged lots of her possessions that now belong to other people.
^
Maria’s home just one instant before leaving for good.
^
Before her final departure she packed several vans with her belongings. She has been filling slowly a storage space in a friend’s house in Vigo, close to the port from
where she would ship all her effects.
where she would ship all her effects.
^
Maria in front of her house in Vilar with her suitcases. These bags contain all the things that she really needs, the most essentials belongings. They will travel with
her by plane to her new destination: San Francisco.
her by plane to her new destination: San Francisco.
^
One week before leaving Spain and with everything packed, Maria was invited to a show in an art gallery in Ourense (Galicia). She decided to make it about her
move. She produced an installation with all her belongings.
move. She produced an installation with all her belongings.
^
After the show has ended, she packed her belongings once more, this time she would list and describe everything that is inside the boxes, to keep track of her things.
^
The list of belongings was never-ending and Maria realised that she was taking way too many things with her.
^
Moves and changes bring together a deep reflection about who we are, where are we heading to and how many things we need in order to feel comfortable with ourselves.
^
Maria with all her packed belongings minutes before loading the van that will drive her to her final destination in Spain: the Port of Vigo.
^
Maria organises her belongings inside the van that she has rented to move her boxes to Vigo, where they will depart to San Francisco.
^
Conscious of the amount of things she would take with her, Maria rented a container to send her belongings to the other side of the globe.
^
Mission accomplished. Maria got to fit in all her boxes in one single container. Satisfied after the hard work, Maria climbs her container minutes before losing
sight of it.
sight of it.
^
Maria’s container starts its journey. It weights around 3.500kg and it contains 21m3 divided in 223 parcels. Shortly will be sent to Customs Area.
^
Vigo’s Shipping Port, a fascinating scenario that, through hundreds of colourful containers, reflects the complexity of the world we live in.
^
The container arrives to Customs Area in Vigo’s Shipping Port before its departure to Oakland (USA), the container’s final destination.
^
Maria’s container gets lost in hundreds of other containers before its final departure.