Eliza O. Barrios, Returning 《歸來》
In Eliza O. Barrio’s Returning, the profound and transformative relationship between heat and human composting is explored through video projection. This project investigates the natural cycle of life and death, emphasizing fire’s role as both creator and destructor.
The imagery juxtaposes the intense energy of heat with the serene process of human composting. By capturing the breakdown and transformation of organic matter through heat, Returning highlights the overlooked beauty and potential of natural organic reduction. Visuals transition from raw, fiery energy to nurturing warmth that facilitates decomposition, ultimately creating fertile soil.
Returning invites viewers to reconsider perceptions of death and decomposition. The project is a contemplative journey, encouraging reflection on environmental impact and sustainable afterlife practices. By embracing human composting, we can contribute to planetary regeneration, turning the end of life into a new beginning. Returning calls for eco-friendly ways of honoring our passage through life, inspiring deeper appreciation for the interconnectedness of all living things and the continuous cycle of renewal.
About Eliza O. Barrios
Eliza O. Barrios is a San Francisco-based visual artist whose work encompasses both individual and collaborative practices. In her solo work, Barrios explores the relationship between physical space, memory and the impermanence of lived experience, using digital media to orchestrate site specific installations and projections. Her collaborative practice includes performance, video and photography engaging with concepts of gender and culture (with M.O.B./Mail Order Brides), and public interventions addressing current social and political issues (with Paz de la Calzada).
Barrios holds a Bachelor of Arts from San Francisco State University and a Masters of Fine Arts from Mills College. Her solo and collaborative work has shown domestically and internationally in museums, galleries, public spaces and theaters including the Museum of Contemporary Art (Oahu, Hawaii), Manila Biennale: Open City 2018 (Manila, Philippines), MCLA Gallery 51, (North Adams, MA), New Forms Festival (Vancouver, Canada), Tenderloin District (San Francisco, CA), Soho (New York) and the International Turin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (Turin, Italy).
She has received an Honorary Fellowship from the Djerassi Resident Artists Program and has served as Juror for Alliance of Artists Communities' Visions From New California Fellowship.
Thank you to Jake Miller with Return Home, for providing footage of the human composting process for this project. "Life Grows On." (website: https://returnhome.com/)
Eliza O. Barrio的作品《歸來》，透過視像投影探討熱與人類遺體作為肥料之間既奧妙且具變革性的關係。這個企劃研究生、死的自然循環，強調“火“既是創造者，又是毀滅者的角色。
這些圖像將強烈的熱能與以人類遺體堆肥的寧靜過程放在一起。透過捕捉有機物質的分解和轉化，《歸來》突顯這種天然有機循環被忽視的美麗和潛力。看著由原始物質、熾熱的能量轉變為促進分解的溫和溫度，最終創造出肥沃的土壤。
《歸來》邀請觀眾重新思考對死亡和腐化的看法。這個創作是一次沉思之旅，鼓勵人們反思環境影響和這種永續的人生循環。採用人類堆肥，我們可以為地球的再生做出貢獻，將生命的終結變成新的開始。《歸來》呼籲以環保的方式來紀念我們的人生，啓發人們對所有生物的相互聯繫和不斷的循環產生更深層次的認識。
Eliza O. Barrios 是一位在三藩市發展的視覺藝術家，她的作品包含了個人和群體的互動實踐。在她的個人作品中，Barrios探索了物理空間、記憶和日常生活經歷的無常性，三者之間的關係，利用電子媒體來編排特定場地的裝置和投影。而她的合作項目包括融合了性別和文化概念（與 M.O.B./Mail Order Brides 合作）的表演、視像和攝影；以及解決當前社會和政治問題的公共協作（與 Paz de la Calzada 合作）。
Barrios擁有三藩市州立大學的文學學士學位和Mills學院的美術碩士學位。她的個人和合作作品曾在本地和國際間多間博物館、畫廊、公共空間和劇院展出，包括當代藝術博物館（夏威夷歐胡島）、馬尼拉雙年展：Open City 2018（菲律賓馬尼拉）、MCLA Gallery 51（North Adams ，馬薩諸塞州）、New Forms節（加拿大溫哥華）、田德隆區（加州三藩市）、蘇豪區（紐約）和國際都靈同性戀電影節（意大利都靈）。
她獲得了Djerassi常駐藝術家計劃的榮譽院士，並擔任藝術家社區願景聯盟加州獎學金的評審。