Between tree and skin I

Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa’s work engages with his native Guatemala, exploring themes of heritage and displacement that reflect both intimate lived experiences and extensive historical research. In this painting, entitled Between Tree of Skin I, Ramírez-Figueroa refers to the perennial tree Mimosa tenuiflora, historically used by traditional communities of Central and South America for the treatment of skin diseases –therefore, called “tree of skin”.

Although the plants use dates back to the 10th century, it was thoroughly studied only in the 1980’s after two horrific accidents and an earthquake in Mexico which killed at least 12500 people and left many more injured. Due to the proportions of the catastrophe, lack of health professionals and adequate medication, people turned to treat the burn victims with the bark of this tree.

Between tree and skin I derives from the very concept of skin care. Above all, Ramírez-Figueroa is aware of how nature – especially Mimosa tenuiflora – is able to compensate for the lack of care human beings devote to their own body and their surroundings. The skin is to a focal point in a wider scope of the artist’s work: the states of transfiguration.