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Multimedia tapestry installation exploring Texas native plants through Indigenous knowledge networks and rhizomatic connections.
"Rhizomatic" features a series of tapestries exploring Texas plants through both Indigenous cultural narratives and scientific understanding. Each tapestry presents traditional stories, uses, and perspectives on one side, with botanical and ecological information on the reverse. By placing Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding in equal relationship, "Rhizomatic" celebrates the rich cultural and ecological heritage of Texas native plants while honoring multiple ways of knowing our natural world.
Featured Artists: Essentials Creative - a multimedia collective of Indigenous American, Latin American, and Asian artists based in Austin, creating visual narratives that honor ancestral knowledge while reimagining artistic possibilities.
Core Themes
Rhizomatic connections across biological, cultural, and spiritual dimensions
Indigenous and marginalized communities' perspectives and traditional knowledge
Environmental conservation and biodiversity preservation
Scientific understanding and research
Cultural heritage and its preservation
Seasonal changes and natural cycles
Featured Plants
1. Ichahpe hu / Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Sacred medicine plant of Plains peoples, used for immune support, wound healing, and spiritual purification. Features distinctive purple-pink petals around a spiny orange center.
2. Gilzisomashkiki / Goldenrod
Solidago spp.
Ojibwe "yellow top medicine" used for kidney ailments, fever, and wounds. Creates brilliant golden displays and supports over 100 pollinator species during late season blooms.
3. Nochtli / Prickly Pear
Opuntia spp.
Sacred to Mesoamerican cultures, featured on the Mexican flag. Both pads (nopales) and fruits (tunas) are nutritious foods. Used medicinally for inflammation and blood sugar regulation.
4. Tolin / Cattail
Typha latifolia
"Supermarket of the swamp" - nearly every part is useful. Roots ground into flour, young shoots eaten, leaves woven into mats and baskets, fluffy seeds used for insulation and baby diapers.
5. Ponil / Apache Plume
Fallugia paradoxa
Pueblo plant with white rose-like flowers transforming into feathery pink seed plumes. Branches crafted into arrows and prayer sticks, roots used medicinally for stomach ailments.
6. Chiltepin / Chili Pequin
Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum
Wild ancestor of all chile peppers, sacred to Tohono O'odham as "mother of all chiles." Tiny but intensely hot peppers gathered from wild plants, never cultivated, in traditional family harvest.
7. Huautli / Amaranth
Amaranthus spp.
Ancient Aztec "tree of wonders" banned by conquistadors for its sacred ceremonial use. Protein-rich seeds and nutritious greens sustained pre-Columbian civilizations. Name means "unfading" in Greek.
8. Snake Grass / Horsetail
Equisetum spp.
Living fossil surviving 100 million years since dinosaur age. High silica content made it perfect for scouring and polishing. Used medicinally for kidney health and wound healing.
9. Atlazomilili / Turk's Cap
Malvaviscus arboreus
Nahuatl "water hibiscus" with unique red flowers that never fully open. Used for digestive issues and skin treatments. Continuous blooming attracts hummingbirds, seen as messengers of joy.
10. METL / Maguey
Agave spp.
Aztec "tree of wonders" providing food, fiber, medicine, and sacred pulque beverage. Associated with goddess Mayahuel. After decades of growth, produces spectacular 30-foot flower stalk before dying.
Tapestries
Museum-Quality Botanical Art Prints on Fabric
Large (30" × 40")
Double-sided $600
Single-sided $300
Small (18" × 25")
Double-sided $300
Single-sided $150
Artist: Essentials Creative
Misa Yamamoto • Fabian Villa • Sixto Zavala • Steven Casanova
About Essentials Creative
Essentials Creative is a multimedia collective producing holistic applied arts experiences. These multifaceted events incorporate photography, fashion, graphic design, video, projection, animation, and installation. We create a platform for underrepresented artists to express themselves and find support within their field. We are composed of and embrace artists of color, women, and members of the LGBTQIA community. Fluidity, diversity, experimentation, and collaboration are the threads that always run through Essentials' projects, no matter the medium.
@essentialscreative
EssentialsCreative.com • essentialscreative@gmail.com
