Los Nudos Fuertes
This set of works is from a series that translates to “the strong knots,” and combines archival photographs from the
Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory (TARL) of excavations at the Amistad Reservoir before it was flooded with
images from the Harvard Astronomical Photographic Plate Collection. Alongside the collages are objects on loan from
other UT special collections, such as core samples from oil drilling explorations in the Permian Basin from the Austin
Core Research Center; extinct and newly found fish specimens from the Biodiversity Center’s Ichthyology Collection;
and botanical samples from The Billie L. Turner Plant Resource Center.
The installation constellates unexpected relationships among stars and galaxies, rivers and aquifers, invasive and
native plant species, flooded pictographs and rock shelters, oil industry infrastructure, and state of the art
observatories that speak about the diverse and contested sites where both Native and Western knowledge has been
and continues to be produced in Texas.
Installation view of 'Los Nudos Fuertes'. Courtesy of Ballroom Marfa. Photographs by Makenzie Goodman.
Installation view of 'Los Nudos Fuertes'. Courtesy of Visual Arts Center, The University of Texas at Photos: Sandy Carson.
Series, 2020
This set of works is from a series that translates to “the strong knots,” and combines archival photographs from the
Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory (TARL) of excavations at the Amistad Reservoir before it was flooded with
images from the Harvard Astronomical Photographic Plate Collection. Alongside the collages are objects on loan from
other UT special collections, such as core samples from oil drilling explorations in the Permian Basin from the Austin
Core Research Center; extinct and newly found fish specimens from the Biodiversity Center’s Ichthyology Collection;
and botanical samples from The Billie L. Turner Plant Resource Center.
The installation constellates unexpected relationships among stars and galaxies, rivers and aquifers, invasive and
native plant species, flooded pictographs and rock shelters, oil industry infrastructure, and state of the art
observatories that speak about the diverse and contested sites where both Native and Western knowledge has been
and continues to be produced in Texas.
Installation view of 'Los Nudos Fuertes'. Courtesy of Ballroom Marfa. Photographs by Makenzie Goodman.
Installation view of 'Los Nudos Fuertes'. Courtesy of Visual Arts Center, The University of Texas at Photos: Sandy Carson.