Territorial Bodies Exhibition: Interview with the Artist. Amanda Bobadilla.
After being part of Territorial Bodies exhibition, curated by Marcela Villanueva, Amanda Bobadilla reflects on her art in an interview with Myriam Martínez Gómez.
How would you describe yourself?
That’s a tough question, but I would describe myself as a multidisciplinary visual artist. I work with different media, and what really drives me is a particular theme or curiosity. I’ve always been invested in research as a core part of my process, too.
Even during my studies, I was always drawn to three-dimensional media. So even when I was doing drawing or painting, I found myself trying to apply three-dimensional resources to the image. I’ve been increasingly drawn to exploring different materials depending on the ideas I’m working through. I’m also very interested in making installation more dynamic, moving beyond the traditional frame or format. I like to think of how the viewer interacts with the work in space.
What’s your inspiration?
My themes usually emerge from a personal place, my experiences, memories, or my relationship with a context. Sometimes I try to broaden them into something more universal, but they always stem from something close to me. For example: migration. That is something that affects me indirectly, and I feel compelled to work from that perspective. Maybe not always explicitly, but the idea of movement is often present in what I do.
I used to have a clear list of artists who inspired me, but at some point I tried to step away from looking up to the “greats” and instead started focusing more on the work of my friends. Specifically, the conversations around our research or our interests. The work of people around me (my peers, my colleagues from university, etc.) has been a huge source of inspiration and learning.
Do you consider your work political? The way you work with space is quite relevant in this sense.
I’m starting to realize that it is. Many of my pieces begin with the question: “What makes me angry?” Years ago, Marcela Borquez, who is an artist and mediatior, asked me to write down what I loved most and what I hated most, and then to find my political position and my space of action in between those two. I think that’s stayed with me.
I never formally studied architecture, though I had courses in modeling and sculpture. My brother is an architect, and our conversations may have influenced me. But mostly, I think space is also about privilege: who has access to it, who can claim it, who is displaced from it. These questions are always present in my work.
What’s your creative process like?
It varies, but I tend to go back and forth between spontaneity and structure. I often write about the themes I’m interested in (though I don’t keep a journal per se) and then I do research. After that, I usually step away from the research and begin working with the materials, allowing both parts to merge organically.
For “Cardenillo / Letter to Space”, part of the “Territorial Bodies” exhibition, curated by Marcela Villanueva and presented at Bardo Projektraum, the choice of format is based on the etymology of the word cartography, derived from charta, meaning map or communication through paper, and graphía, referring to graphic representations. Since my arrival in Germany, much of my communication has taken place through text messages, both with my family and friends, with whom I have attempted to describe places and my emotions about them by drawing parallels between Berlin and Mexico City.
In this way, I decided to write a letter expressing my impressions and aspirations in a place outside my country of origin. The pieces include silhouettes of Mexico and Berlin, as well as fragments of the letter I wrote about myself and both cities, aiming to create a narrative that links these two places through illegible writing.
What was the technical process behind it?
This piece was a lot of fun to create. I wanted to combine something very personal with something more expansive, like maps and routes. I started playing with the forms of letters and cartographic figures, noticing the shared root between carta (letter) and cartography. That idea of writing space really fascinated me.
I had the shapes cut with a CNC machine and, once I had the pieces in my studio, I began arranging them in different compositions. I even asked friends to move them around with me. Eventually, I chose a shape resembling a letter: starting from a short upper line and ending with a final punctuation mark.
This piece seems quite distinct from others you’ve made. How do you see it in relation to your broader practice?
Actually, even though it’s an installation, I still see it as being connected to drawing. The forms came from lines (things that were initially written or drawn on paper), and then translated into space. So for me, the core remains. Right now, I feel lucky to be at a stage where I can explore different formats of presentation and allow the work to move in new directions. I’m preparing for an exhibition in October where I’ll need to occupy a larger space. So I’m already working on new elements that will continue in the same conceptual line.
Are there other media you’d like to explore in the future?
Definitely. I’ve been working a lot with ceramics, and even within that, there are so many possibilities: from the type of clay to glazes, for example. Metal also interests me. In fact, in this piece I reference copper oxidation, and I’d love to explore copper further as a material itself, not just conceptually.
The color in “Cardenillo / Letter to Space” is a key element, but does it play a similar role in your other works?
Yes. In the case of this piece, I have used details painted in emerald green to reference the European bronze present in sculptures and buildings, which can also be found in some iconic buildings in Mexico, establishing a visual connection through color. And in recent works, it has gained more importance. I have two pieces where blue is central; a royal blue that references Talavera, a ceramic technique that traveled from Asia to Spain with a different name and then to Mexico. I found the movement of that color across geographies very compelling.
Moving to Berlin has been a major influence in the development of your artistic persona?
Very much so. I came to Berlin to expand my practice and focus on research and new projects, and I’ve learned so much and connected with ideas that feel surprisingly familiar. I think the art scene here is very rich and goes beyond typical European narratives, although it still feels a bit hard to access. Personally, I’ve found some ground, but professionally, I think it will take more time. That said, Berlin does feel more open and international than many other places. There is room to grow here.
How has been exhibiting your work here at Bardo Projektraum?
It was a really smooth process. Sometimes you encounter barriers to show your work, but here everything felt clear and supportive. I also appreciated the opportunity to meet other artists and thinkers exploring themes of movement, migration, the body and feminist perspectives, all of which connect to “Territorial Bodies”. I tend to work alone, but through the themes I explore, I’ve found that I can create bridges toward others. The connections happen naturally, often without intending to start a conversation, but it happens anyway.
My Artist Talk alongside Bernardita Bennett was really fulfilling. When you talk with another artist, even informally, you find points of connection in process and intention. It helps you see yourself more clearly. Even when our ways of working are completely different, there’s a mutual respect. It really was a nourishing experience.
And what’s next for you?
I’ll be showing in Mexico some artwork I made before moving to Berlin alongside what I’ve developed here. It’ll be a sort of dual portrait: the artist I was then and the artist I am now. It’s a bit scary, but I think it will be an important moment in my career as an artist.
Myriam Martínez Gómez
