2023 Sitka Artist Residency: Christian Orellana Bauer
¿Imataq Sutiy? // What is My Name?
New Work from the Sitka Artist Residency
Aug 1 - 31, 2024
The developing body of work ¿Imataq Sutiy? // What is My Name? investigates the ongoing erasure of indigenous culture as a necessary step in the creation and maintenance of the modern system of capital through the lens of the Andean region. The work is inspired by various techniques and indigenous practices discovered on a series of research trips to the Andes and will ultimately take the form of printmaking, photography, sculpture, music, and poetry. The work is unfolding as research, creation, and lived experience further reveal the questions being explored.
Much of the current work was completed in large part during a residency at Sitka where the time spent being held by the coastal ecosystems while in community with other ecologically minded artists continued to guide its development. New research avenues and mediums to explore were discovered while in conversation with residents during studio visits, dinners, and nature walks. Dialogue with fellow indigenous artists supported the journey of beginning to re-learn and ultimately nest the language of Kichwa within these pieces. The deepest gratitude is extended to all the artists and staff who impacted the work along the way.
This work was funded and supported by Blue Sky Gallery, the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, and the Regional Arts and Culture Council.
Christian Orellana Bauer (b. Cuenca, Ecuador, 1995, they/he/any) is an interdisciplinary poet, visual artist, filmmaker, and musician working in a wide variety of mediums. They are interested in the intersections between many subjects some of which include language and its relationship to culture, ethnocentrism v.s ethnorelativism, ecology and climate collapse, the idea of cultural belonging and its relationship to race, melancholy, play/humor, as well as the various tensions embedded within and produced by the concepts of post-modernism and neo-liberalism.
Their work has appeared in the Regional Arts and Culture Council’s (RACC) public works collection and has exhibited in galleries and events throughout Oregon as well as in national publications. They have been supported by the Oregon Arts Commission, The RACC, The Nat Turner Project, as well as their family, friends, and community members always.
About the Sitka Residency
The Blue Sky/Sitka Center Photography Residency was created to increase Sitka’s visibility in the photography community through a collaboration with Blue Sky Gallery, one of the most well-known photography galleries in the Pacific Northwest. Each year, Sitka offers 2 alumni of Blue Sky’s exhibitions and Drawers program the opportunity to be in residence at Sitka Center for up to a month. Residents are selected through a jury of Sitka Center and Blue Sky staff, along with a Blue Sky Residency alum.