Liquid Bridges and Folds of Time

During her one-month residency at Lagos, Pat Arnao presents a proposal conceived specifically for the territory of Mexico City. Her process stems from a deep reflection on the temporal layers that inhabit this space, connecting two moments that seem distant: the lacustrine past of the Basin of Mexico and the urban present. Through water, Arnao breaks with the idea of linear time to explore its folds, revealing what we thought was extinct in the landscape and showing that it remains latent and present.

Because lagos | estudios y residencias is spatially located very close to the historic Calzada México-Tacuba—one of the four cardinal causeways of the ancient road system of Mexico-Tenochtitlan—Arnao situates her work in relation to the ancestral concept of the city, which is linked to the linguistic roots ATL and TLA, as well as to the quincunx cosmogram (representing the four cardinal directions of the universe—north, south, east, and west—plus the center as the world axis, the axis mundi).

Thus, this research takes a fundamental course at the Cárcamo de Dolores, an emblematic site where Diego Rivera's historic mural work and contemporary interventions—such as that of audio-luminous artist Aries Guzik—coexist. For Arnao, this space functioned as a catalyst and a sanctuary for the sensitive sense of water, inspiring an artistic approach where painting directly dialogues with the city's hydraulic history and artistic heritage.

In La Memoria del Agua (The Memory of Water), an installation made with rubber (tire inner tubes), paper, and a branch, far from seeking literal imitation, the artist juxtaposes contemporary industrial materials to simulate waterfalls, recognizing in the texture of rubber a new form of fluidity that connects urban walking with lacustrine currents. In the works WATER II-XXXII, created on paper using mixed media with a liquid base, they evoke a material fluidity that resonates with the Nahuatl suffix -atl (water); in their visual presentation of calligraphic gesturality and free application of pigment, they connect with the prefix tla-, which refers to the indeterminate and that which is yet to be, thereby connecting with the sense of being present, of being here, inherent to the fifth element of the Mexica cosmogram. In this way, Arnao reflects on and creates connections regarding the latent possibilities of territory and time.

The audiovisual piece complements the immersive experience of temporal flow, combining footage of the Cárcamo de Dolores with music by Sonobringer, creating an audiovisual atmosphere that is dramatic yet ritual while evoking deep emotions.

Al together, this open studio is not merely a showcase of results, but a sensitive map where matter, historical archives, and the present of Mexico City converge into a single stream.

olgaMargarita dávila

Chief Curator

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