COLLECTION: Ana Escobar Saavedra

Ana Escobar Saavedra has a cross-disciplinary creative practice working on the frontiers of craft, art and design. Born and bred in Colombia, after living and working 3 years in Italy and 13 years in France, she is now established in the UAE. For the last few years, she has combined a personal studio practice alongside other professional projects in a range of fields such as fashion, art, trend forecasting, among others. With a background in fashion, textiles and goldsmithing she is now pursuing a low residency MA in Object, Jewelry and material culture, in a joint program between Masieraad and Pxl school of arts in Hasselt Belgium. 

Artwork statement

I come from the tropics where green is everywhere, but omnipresent green is so often overlooked. My understanding of nature changed when I arrived in this region, still, in the desert, trees seemed like miracles. I was responding to the natural perceptions of value, scarcity makes things precious.

In February 2022, I witnessed several big trees brutally uprooted in Umm Suqeim. I felt sadness and the urge to preserve a few pieces. A year before I documented an unexpected encounter with the remains of a fabulous creature in the desert. The impulse to collect a few bones was paired with a feeling of guilt. Roots, bones, and shells that then appeared in my path showed me passing time, beauty and fragility, challenging my perceptions of value and what is sacred and profane. 

I wrote the word humble as a reminder. These materials that were present in the first forms of art and body adornment thousands of years ago, remind us of economies of extraction and no matter how abundant or rare the material, all our actions have consequences.