Artist Mariana Castillo Deball was in conversation with chief curator Catalina Lozano on the occasion of the opening of her exhibition at Artium Museoa, on November 5, 2021.

The title of Castillo Deball’s exhibition, “Amarantus”, refers to the plant amaranth, sometimes known as foxtail, which is commonly found all over the world. Amaranth seeds are one of the most important foodstuffs in Mexico and have long been used in religious rituals, which is why it was banned during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The Greek meaning of the word conveys the idea of a flower that never wilts. It is in a similar way that Mariana Castillo Deball understands the objects she is following. Even out of their original context they resemble flowers that never die. In this way the artist imagines a museum that permits different readings of cultural knowledge and reveals fresh connecting threads between objects.