Zoraida Anaya

Nostalgia: Nobody Asked Me

The work is a found wood chair from the 1950s. I covered the chair in soil, and there are about 80 bits of chopped keys buried on the seat, backrest and legs. Chopping the keys with a metal cutter was a manual intensive and repetitive labour. Had I been asked how long it took me to finish this piece, I would have to answer the truth: the process started in my mind 53 years ago and culminated in 2024 with this piece. For practical reasons I say that I completed the manual labour in November 2024.

“My life experiences shape who I am and are inevitably reflected in my artwork. This concept holds especially true for this piece, which is one of the most personal works I have created in years. The raw connection is conveyed through the material used to "dress" a wooden chair from the late 1950s. During the production process, I discovered deep personal motivations for incorporating soil into this work. For context, I have been interested in eco-art over the past couple of years. In my first critique, I used sand—a material that felt natural to me because I was born in a city known as the “sandy city.” However, through this process, I came to realize that using soil was the result of a journey. It began when I was seven years old, following a life event that required me to imagine what soil looked and felt like. At ten, I witnessed how soil and sub-soil was used in practice. These experiences left a lasting impression that has stayed with me. I found inspiration in Meg Webster’s Concave Earth (1986–1990). After completing my piece, I also recognized the influence of my long-standing fascination with the Surrealists. Meret Oppenheim’s Fur Breakfast (1936) informed my decision to include keys in my work.”