Be Loved
2022
Be loved is part of an expansive new project encompassing video, sound, objects, and works on paper.
The project began by addressing how patriarchal violence is perpetuated, and the impact this had on her grandmother, father, mother, and her own notion of self. Through a process of searching and digesting, this has developed into a deeper psychological understanding of self and the inner child. Over the last year the work itself has pushed back against this pain and shifted towards a process of healing, confronting personal adherence and performance of these values, and their ongoing transformation.
The video is composed of a series of ritual-actions filmed at the Evergreen Cemetery (the oldest, and one of the largest cemeteries in Los Angeles). Through the process of these somatic actions N Evergreen Ave 4 is the beginning material of the searching process to mother the inner child.
I began to dig a hole and kick up some of the dirt of my ego.
I encountered new feelings that had previously been numb.
The transmutation now asked a different question.
Rather than a didactic method, the approach to the work is more visually poetic, drawing on childhood relationships to make sense of this complex experience. The project continued to develop through a residency at Primary, where large-scale works on paper were produced in situ, culminating in an installation that brought all of these elements together for the first time.
Positive Affirmations is an evolving online space to document Carmen Argote’s research, process and processing of ideas during her residency and exhibition at Primary. The collection of audio and visual works will develop, unfold and grow throughout the duration of Be Loved, creating different perspectives on the exhibition and wider project.
