Craig & Karl roll out the multi-coloured carpet in Guatemala City
‘Optimystic’ is a new installation by Craig & Karl in Guatemala City, created for Showcase ITCH, an annual festival that brings together both local and international artists.
The installation is a modern take on the centuries-old custom of sawdust carpets. Traditionally the carpets are created on city streets as a pathway for ceremonial processions, and ‘Optimystic’ is Craig & Karl’s new take on this important ritual.
Craig & Karl: “Locally, the sawdust carpets are expressions of faith and community created in a celebratory atmosphere. In creating one, our aim was to adopt and extend these basic precepts, introducing our viewpoint and taking it somewhere new that felt relevant to our lives, without wholly severing a connection to their traditional role within Guatemalan culture.
Within our work, optimism is a fundamental tenet and ultimately what we endeavour to convey by message or example or both. Vis a vis, our carpet is quite simply an expression of faith in optimism. Our creative act is inherently one of optimism; it imagines a better, richer, more enlightened world. And, with the world in increasing disarray, it seems a timely message – more than ever a sense of optimism is required.”
The exhibition runs until 2nd December at Fox International Channels, Avenida Las Americas 16-76, Guatemala 01013, Guatemala.
Photography credit: Juan Rojas Benavides
