Solar Consciousness A conversation with José Luis Macas Paredes by Carolina Castro Jorquera

Abstract

There is in Latin America, among a certain group of artists, a deep awareness of the sun. José Luis Macas Paredes is one of them. In his work, what together we have called "solar consciousness" manifests itself as an acute sensitivity to solar cycles, the movements of light and shadow, and their impact on Andean geography and cultures. It is a form of perception that recognizes the importance of the sun as a vital force that shapes the physical and symbolic reality of a place, and in his specific case, has shaped since its origin the urbanity of the city of Quito in Ecuador. Throughout this conversation, Jose Luis takes us through his personal experience from walks, photography and drawing in cyanotype, to reconsider the relationship between what he calls urbandinity and equatorial sunlight.