A Funeral for a Garden
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“I have always been very connected to the land. Coming from a Mexican family that grows food and flowers, it is only natural that I find comfort working with the land in my art practice. It connects me to home and defines my identity.”
Based in Calgary, Rocio Graham is a multi-disciplinary artist whose art practice is influenced by her cultural heritage, experiences as a woman, interest in life cycles, and knowledge of botany. She emigrated from Mexico to Calgary in 2002, and brought with her a deep appreciation for gardening instilled in her by her family from a young age.
“During 2020’s lockdown, as our public natural spaces became out of bounds, it became evident that the land is our healer. As we craved to feel our feet on the dewy grass, as we yearned for hiking mountain peaks to feel the crisp wind in our cheeks, we realized we are one with nature and that without it, we are lost.”
“My garden has been a refuge, the medicine for my soul when the world becomes too much. My garden doesn’t mind that I cry rivers into its dry parts.”
“As my garden dies, I honour its life in the traditions of my people, through the celebration of the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos).”
“It is important to honour death and its transformational power and symbolism. As plants die, it is time for us to attune ourselves to surrendering and letting go, with gratitude for the gifts of the season. This altar installation invites us to pause as the seasons change and honour this shared land we call home.”
We invite the public to anonymously write a letter of release to let go of the heaviness of this year. The artist will receive your anonymous submissions and will physically deconstruct the letters to weave them into a collective sheet of paper that mixes wildflower seeds and the paper fibre form with the letters.
This new paper will be planted in the artist’s garden and tended by the artist, ensuring that the grief and loss is absorbed by the earth, transformed and brought back to life next spring in the form of a wildflower garden that will announce the rebirth of our grievances and the promise of new collective future.
My Garden’s Funeral has been created as a part of Casa Mexico’s Dia de Muertos festival. For more information on the festival, please visit: casamexico.ca/diademuertos.
