Saskia Calderón (b. 1981) is recognized for her songs evoking the Amazonian communities of Ecuador, presented in a style reminiscent of opera, interwoven with practices of listening to spirits and healing inherited from her ancestors.
Adopting the animistic perspective of the ‘all-living’, inherited from her family’s ancestral worldview, Calderón reminds us that all entities in nature are alive, from the most obvious to the most imperceptible.
For her work in Helsinki Biennial, she has listened to and transcribed the melodies dictated by the spirits of Northeastern Ecuador in the province of Sucumbíos. She has also created a site-specific work for Vallisaari Island, which she composed after spending a few days listening to the spirits of the unique island ecosystem.
Artwork location: Vallisaari Island
Photo: Courtesy of the artist