Acacallis Print

I created "Acacallis" (2021) using watercolor on engraving paper to color the background. I then used woodcuts to print patterns of abstracted landscapes that took on a female and floral form inspired by orchids. Acacallis is part of the "Orquídeachika" series inspired by these flowers which blossom as the queens of jungles and forests. This piece is named after Acacallis cyanea, a small plant in the orchid family with an exuberant and slender inflorescence of up to ten fragrant and iridescent flowers. She grows in the heat and humidity of the Amazon jungles semi-sumberged in the rivers' waters with only her flowers blooming above water. The anthropologist and ethnobotanist Wade Davis mentionded Acacallis cyanea in his book "The River." Orchids posses an important ecological role since they provide food for pollinators and contribute to the nutrient and water cycles of ecosystems. Deforestation, glyphosate aerial spraying and unrelenting harvesting threatens these charismatic flowers.