THE ANCESTRAL REFUGE

The state highway that runs along the coast is a building site where they tear down mangroves every day to make room for a railway that will bring tourism to the constructions in the process of being built. The animals flee to the interior seeking refuge there, and we wonder if this is the right direction that progress is taking. Everything all around is based on the most violent and touristically standardized constructions with no respect for the planet. From the state highway we turn and are surrounded by woods that become a jungle, where in just a few seconds the light becomes shadow. The scent of the chlorophyl fills our nostrils and the humidity wraps around us like a transparent blanket. We reach a small clearing with a roadblock and a man indicates the tunnel we must take.

Suddenly, rising up before me is a biomorphic structure made of wood and concrete, something that we have never seen before and that takes us back to ancestral constructions.This example of architecture was built to incorporate the nature surrounding it, acting as a refuge for the flora and the fauna, as well as the contemporary design.

Its architecture is perfectly embedded among the native trees, vines, and natural wild fauna, and it was exclusively built using sustainable local materials: wood, concrete, and fiberglass. After leaving our shoes at the entrance, the immersion envelops our senses.

SFER IK was Santiago Rumney Guggenheim's idea. He is a descendant of Peggy Guggenheim and Jorde Eduardo Neira, better known as Roth. The latter, a self-taught artist and architect, wanted to build this space where the word 'museum' was not broad enough.

“The structure must resemble an organism where inside there can be an encounter between species that will evolve over time. It is a place made by human hands in conversation with the jungle," Roth says about making his greatest desire, his vision come true.

We wonder whether an artificial ecosystem can achieve symbiosis and harmonize osmotically with nature.

At first glance the museum is moving, and it makes you dream before each of the activities it chooses to undertake, because it is the first that takes an artistic path through botanical life, giving a voice to artists who perceive this theme by developing a project ad hoc for the museum.

SFER IK is also one of the few exhibition spaces devoted to a holistic experience where both visitors and artists are encouraged to experiment with levels of perception, consciousness, and connectivity with the surrounding space.

Already an attraction and a meeting place in the peninsula of the Yucatan, SFER IK will be the green museum of the near future.

It is the place of a unique experience, a space without floors, walls, or flat ceilings integrated with the wild surrounding greenery and in constant conversation with its Mayan ancestry. The environment forces the viewer to reflect, and fosters the necessary mindset to be able to deal with the climate crisis and heal the Earth.

The structure is about 16 meters in height and is topped by a dome made of reinforced concrete and bejuco wood, a local climbing plant that is a native of this region, crowned by the Flower of Life whose geometric shape is made up of overlapping circles arranged like a flower, developing at the base according to the proportions of the well-known Fibonacci sequence.

The shapes of a nest invite the public to expand the spectrum of their sensory perception, redefine their spatial position, and enter into harmony with the rhythm of nature so as to reconnect with their original creative impulse. Both visitors and artists are encouraged to try out high levels of consciousness and connectivity to co-create a unique holistic experience.

After a great deal of involvement we succeeded in meeting the director, Marcello Dantas, and I asked whether he could tell us about himself and this project, what he thought about it,  and how he got involved.

A: SFER IK was launched in late 2019, a few months before Covid-19. In practical terms, you joined it right after the first wave of the pandemic, in November 2021.

MD: “Actually, I enrolled in April 2021. I visited the place in January 2021, and I was struck by the bold architecture, which led me to write an article about it. When Roth read the article he asked me whether I could come and talk to him, which I did, and he challenged me to be in charge of the programming. My initial feeling was that here was architecture in search of a culture. A culture that was about to be created, rather than one that already existed. SFER IK is not part of the tradition, in truth, it is the idea of being able to exist in a different way within the context of the art world. I felt that there are many possibilities in contemporary art, and that they are not explored properly because of the commercial and institutional model that is in place. I suggested an antithesis of those models with ideas that will involve another species, ancestral knowledge, and ephemeral artworks. A direct dialogue with nature and a symbolic response to the art market based on goods.

SFER IK is, above all, a truly experimental place. Roth's declaration of intents was to always do something that you don't know yet.

A1) What are the difficulties inherent to this type of structure with respect to the traditional white cube model?

MD: It requires artists to be engaged in the development of artworks to be produced in the area. It also suggests new types of challenges, like creating a dialogue with architecture, coexisting with nature, inventing means to be relevant for other species, avoiding being two-dimensional, being transitory in time, being compatible rather than biodegradable, accepting that art is not hygienic but rather organic and touching. It also means being put to the test by the lack of bold walls and floors that thus modify the barycenter. When we become aware of the number of possibilities that we are missing when we limit art to the white cube, we realize just how much more needs to be done. The difficulties are many, but therein lie the possibilities. We are still opening a fab lab that will allow artists to work with avant-garde technologies (like 3D printing, laser cutting, and robotic arms) in collaboration with artisans to extend what can be realized.

A2) Do you follow certain special criteria when planning exhibitions?

MD: I'm interested in the artists who take up the challenge to create works that explore the potential of the context. Working with artisans, with materials, and with the technology available. But, above all, works that make us think about another possible world where our connections with nature and with each other are planned differently.

A3) How is the interaction between the museum and nature and the surrounding environment?  SFER IK is located in the middle of the jungle, surrounded by local communities. Does the museum interact with the local population? Or is it more dedicated to an international public?

MD: The museum has a plan to welcome the locals to visit it, especially children and families. But Tulum is at the crossroads of an international public in search of a unique tourist experience. Both types of public are important to us. The museum itself is the result of the creative collaboration with the local artisans and all the works created for it use this seedbed of human diversity so that they can be developed. The context here is mostly experimental. SFER IK is a workshop of cultural, social, and artistic practices. 

A4) In your previous experience you worked in various fields, from art to museums to opera. Does this imply that the opera's message is more important than the particular form you are involved in?

MD: The truth is I have worked in many different fields, but my specific method is to seek new possibilities in the form itself. The message can vary, but the desire to create new ways of addressing the public is my constant concern, in the museum, on the stage, and in the public space. I am not the bearer of a single message that I want to adapt to different fields. I listen to the stories that already exist and those that are yet to be told, and we work with artists, designers, orchestra conductors, musicians, and writers to create around the media that is constantly being transformed.

A5) You have curated various solo shows with some of today's most influential artists, including Ai Weiwei, Anish Kapoor, Laurie Anderson, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Jenny Holzer, and many others. Is there one particular artist on the theme that you would like to develop in the future?

MD: I like to work with great minds, and I like to guide them to uncharted territories. For me this is the greatest adventure. Doing something that you haven't been able to do yet. I believe in art's power to transform the context. I am not completely attached to a single theme. But I would like to say that now the themes that appeal to me the most are the ones linked to nature and to the collaboration with the other species.

A6) Can you give us an overview of the shows planned for SFER IK in the near future?

MD: We want to continue to explore the themes of our main issue, which is the decodex. The ability to understand things in nature and the ancestral knowledge that allows us to reconnect with our origins that have been neglected. Ultimately, this knowledge greatly influences our vision of the future. I am as interested in the kingdom of mushrooms as I am in the bodies of water underground. The power of ancestral medicinal plants, the rhythms that can alter the levels of consciousness, the search for ritual materials, and the behavior of other creatures based on our ability to deal with situations. These are just some of the topics I am looking for. We will continue to work with a wide variety of origins and points of view to achieve this goal.