Ojo Verde

Metis initiates cross-residencies between Amazonia and Brocéliande, enabling two Peruvian and two French artists to meet and exchange ideas. 

On the French side, storyteller Jessica Moulinet took part in the project. Originally from the forest of Brocéliande, she draws her inspiration from the spirituality of the peoples and myths of the forest, echoing the Celtic tradition of which she is the heir.  At her side is Philippe Manguin, a photographer and graphic designer based in Brocéliande. Through his work, he reappropriates the forest, its moors and its light, and tells the legends of this land in a new way. Together, they will be undertaking a three-week residency in the Amazon.

On the Peruvian side, two artists have been mobilised. Christian Bendayan is a visual artist born in Iquitos, in the heart of the Amazon. Winner of Peru’s National Culture Prize in 2012, he represents his country at various biennials and fairs around the world. He is also committed to promoting Amazonian art, organising exhibitions (notably at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Lima), documentary series and publications. Rember Yahuarcani is a painter and activist from the Aimeni clan of the Uitoto nation in the north of the Peruvian Amazon. In his paintings, animals, plants, people and spirits are interconnected. They invite the Western viewer to immerse themselves in the Uitoto culture, and to experience the world from a different system of thought.

Together, they have put their practices, lifestyles and imaginations into dialogue.

Their meeting gave them the opportunity to exchange ideas on the traditions and mythologies associated with the Amazon and Broceliande, and to reflect on the links between man and the forest, on the symbiosis that is possible, and certainly necessary, for its preservation.

In Peru and France, they set up creative workshops to engage local residents of the two forests in sensitive reflection on their links with the forest and with living things, and on solutions for its preservation. The participants, in Peru and France, were able to express their links with the forest, and to realise that the problem exists elsewhere. 

At the end of these residencies, recitals, stories and exhibitions were presented to the public. In Peru, the exhibition was held at the Alliance française in Lima.

The participation of the Destination Brocéliande tourist office enabled its members to enrich their view of the forest and their approach to forest conservation.