Franca Álvarez

1988

Ceramic artifacts and pottery, invented during the Neolithic period, offers us a window into the experiences and imagination of our ancestors. In this regard, my work is imagined as an ethnographic record of the present: objects to be studied by the archaeology of the future.

Over time, my work as an anthropologist, found other outlets in fiction and art and, inspired by the tradition of ceramic tiles in Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro, I began to create pieces designed for the streets of Mexico City. Intended as love letters for this wild beast of a city, the tiles are scattered across neighborhoods. They are photographed and geo-referenced, creating a living map of my work.

Later, I began to produce vases and plates, objects that integrate private spaces and refer us to intimate experiences and practices. These pieces dialogue with a feminine universe of daily rituals and complicit glances.

I am currently producing medium format tile murals, inspired by the tradition of Mexican muralism and talavera.