‘Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá’
Kora Moya Rojo’s debut solo show ‘Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá’ (Neither Here Nor There) at 9 French Place, London, presents nine paintings and three watercolours reflecting on themes of belonging and displacement. The exhibition investigates the mystical and concrete relationship between human beings, plants, and the places they both inhabit. Peeling back the layers of what constitutes a home, it explores the diverse terrains humans and plants navigate, adapt to, and call home throughout their lifespans.
“Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá” focuses on the idea and image of roots both in their tangible and symbolic meaning. On one hand, they embody the concept of belonging, forming an intricate network of bonds connecting everyone or everything to someplace we collectively recognize as home. On the other, over history and within a globally interconnected world marked by intersections of different layers, roots serve as reminders of displacement, and the trauma deriving from it. In this context, roots represent both an absence and an indispensable, resilient force, contributing to adaptability and survival.
In Moya Rojo’s paintings and watercolours, plants embody the human condition in a mirroring process, dismantling the anthropocentric and Western idea of man’s domain. In her interest in roots, Moya Rojo also depicts a feminine condition, drawing from the artistic legacy of notable female figures who left a lasting mark on art history, such as Frida Khalo, Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo. Moreover, the portrayal of roots becomes a symbolic and allegorical expression of the feminine perspective— a source of life and nourishment, and one of the earliest and most primal symbols of existence in world history.
Moya Rojo’s practice deeply reflects on identity and its boundaries, challenging the traditional relationship between dominator and dominated and questioning the constraints of biological classification.Combining memoir, history and scientific research under a poetic perspective, the artist’s works unfold a dreamy atmosphere, putting the world’s inner fragility under the limelight.