Aycoobo, also known as Wilson Rodríguez, is a Nonuya Indigenous artist whose work is an extension of his father Abel’s botanical knowledge of the Colombian Amazon jungle. His practice is distinguished, however, by its embrace of elements beyond the medicinal and practical uses of plants—in particular, the relationship between humans and the “invisible world” and the use of plants as a means of expanding perception and forging connections with the ancestral world. His paintings offer depictions ranging from Nonuya creation stories to the Amazon calendar of micro-seasons through lived experience.
His works on paper, which are featured in both the 2019 and 2022 Toronto Biennial, are based on the feelings, inspirations, and observations he experiences during rituals with sacred plants, which allow for an exploration and connection with the higher spiritual presence that exists in all living things. Having received ancestral knowledge all his life, art is a way to hone this plant knowledge while living in Colombia’s largest city, Bogotá. What is more, it is a way of continuing to honour the teachings of past generations: How do we connect to those who came before us? How does the transmission of knowledge move through the human and more-than-human world, particularly in places where colonial settlement has threatened Indigenous ways of knowing and being?
Aycoobo is the recipient of the Toronto Biennial of Art’s 2022 Emerging Artist Prize, awarded to acknowledge a promising, early-career Biennial artist.
This project is generously supported by Age of Union Alliance.
Detailed Audio Description of Aycoobo’s work “4 elementos del origen”:
Audio Didactic for Abel Rodríguez and Aycoobo/Wilson Rodríguez’s Biennial works:
Bio
Aycoobo (Nonuya, born in 1967, La Chorrera, Colombia; lives in Bogotá, Colombia), formerly Wilson Rodríguez, carries forth botanical knowledge from the Amazon jungle of Colombia, transmitted by his father Abel. His artistic practice embraces the relationship between humans and the invisible world and the use of medicinal plants to expand perception. For Aycoobo, who has been receiving ancestral knowledge all his life, art is a way to hone his ancient roots and his life as an individual in the contemporary world.
Aycoobo is the recipient of the Toronto Biennial of Art’s 2022 Emerging Artist Prize, awarded to acknowledge a promising, early-career Biennial artist.
Exhibition Site
Arsenal Contemporary Art Toronto
45 Ernest Ave
Toronto ON
M6P 3M7