Nido Creativo - Costa Rica

Site-specific residency and locally informed research project

During a short-term residency at Nido Creativo, I developed a research-led project focused on the tropical dry forest of the Nicoya Peninsula and its plant life.

The work developed through exchanges with local specialists, including biologist Inés Obregon and horticulturist Osiris Lazo Romero. These conversations shaped how I approached the landscape and guided the direction of the work on site.

A series of temporary drawing sessions were developed directly on skin in collaboration with local residents in Nosara. Native plants were drawn onto the body as non-permanent gestures, with each drawing session conceived as a photographic collaboration with Inés Prelovsek and Charles Blouin. These encounters took place as live photo shoots, producing a series of photographic works across different landscapes in the region.

Tattooing also formed part of the residency, introduced through two outdoor sessions, one within the forest and another in a mango farmland. These sessions took place alongside the drawing work as a parallel way of engaging with specific sites.

All tattooing sessions operated on a donation basis, with proceeds directed to Finca Loroco, an independent initiative dedicated to native seed preservation, as part of the project’s structure.