KOAXULA
Koaxula is a collaborative sound activation and performative project between Colombian artist Natalia Escobar and Mexican artist Daniela Huerta. Inspired by fading cosmovisions and mythological female archetypes often overshadowed by dominant cultures, the duo seeks to reinvent hybrid narratives that explore different ways of being and existing in the world, creating a dialogue between past, present and future.
Exploring female archetypes allows our understanding of the evolution of human consciousness and its reflection in our psychology. The dual nature of the Jungian archetype of the mother goddess, for instance, reveals two opposing aspects: the "Good Mother," symbolizing benevolence, protection, and fertility, and the "Terrible Mother," embodying devouring, seductive, and venomous qualities.
Koaxula's creative process reveals suppressed aspects of the psyche associated with the “Terrible Mother” archetype, underscoring how their repression not only severs the connection between humanity and nature but also reinforces patriarchal control. Koaxula seeks to reshape notions of power and identity through the creation of performative and audiovisual mythology, nurturing renewed awareness in collaboration with diverse artists at specific locations.
Recent endeavors include an artist residency at the Centre of Digital Culture in Mexico City as part of El Sonido Que Atravieza curatorial program, where they developed their inaugural performance and installation Deslenguadas. Subsequently, they were invited to the Paso De Fauna residency in Valle De Bravo, Mexico, where they initiated the recording process for their debut album
DESLENGUADAS at the CCD in CDMX
DESLENGUADAS
Deslenguadas encompasses a series of live electroacoustic performances, featuring sound activation with whips, dancers and a vocalist.
The project is rooted in a mythological narrative aimed at decolonizing feminine archetypes. The performance encapsulates the voracious, alluring and poisonous aspects within 'The Terrible Mother” archetype. Drawing inspiration from serpent-associated deities like the Mexica’s Coatlicue and Tlazolteotl, and the Embera’s JEFÃ, Koaxula intricately reinterprets these narratives through a dynamic blend of performative and sound exploration.
During the performance, whips are utilised as sonic instruments, symbolizing the power of the serpent deities while challenging their historical association with oppressive systems. The supersonic effect or sonic boom of the whip evokes a futuristic quality, metaphorically allowing for transcendence beyond time, reshaping and distancing the deities from their historical connotations, and imbuing them with new meaning.
Moving through the sonic energy of their whips, enabling passage between different dimensions, KOAXULA penetrates the serpent's mouth, guarded by rows of dangerous teeth, a sort of "Vagina Dentata". They travel through six levels into the underworld, seeking the destructive and transformative forces, the sexual power, and the word of severed tongues of various female entities that inhabit within. It is a return to the realm of the wild, a reconnection with their dark animal side, and the buried power of the Great Ouroboric Mother.