All posts tagged: art

Only me.

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I am learning to sit with the darkness, And deal with the force of pain, From the inside out.   I’ll scream its name, “Show your face!” But mostly it arrives uninvited.   In the middle of the night, When I pray for sweet joys, It’s comes knocking.   Louder, Louder, Louder.   “Face me” it will taunt, As I shy away for the light, But where is the light now?   Nowhere is far enough, To hide from the cries, Of the depths of my soul.   Exhausted and broken, Fetal position, I unwrap my limbs.   “I will endure no more!” I boldly assert, But no one hears.   Because there is nothing. There is no darkness. There is only me.

Medellin’s Transformation: Part Two

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In recent years architecture has demonstrated to be an important form of crime control, revealing unprecedented and unconventional alternatives to established law enforcement methods. Environmental criminologists, in particular, have argued that architecture and urban design shape the physical and social backgrounds, which consequently form settings for crime. These conclusions are visibly accurate in the city of Medellin, Colombia, where a combination of architecture, design, and city planning have contributed significantly to a reduction in criminal activity. Medellin’s multi-practice approach, including the renowned Metro system and education reforms, has focused on the transformation of physical environments as a tool to change social behaviour and reconnect physical spaces with ideas of safety.     Three hundred vertical lamps totalling an area of 16,000m2 create a vision of light in Parque de las Lucas. This space in Medellin’s downtown was once dominated by Escobar’s cartel headquarters and rampant with crime. Today, architect Juan Manuel Pelaez’s project of lights creates an enticing meeting place, surrounded by the library Vasquez and the Ministry of Education.   Colombian artist Fernando Botero …

Panama’s Casco Viejo

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Casco Viejo, otherwise known as Panama’s old town, is an abstract mix between historic remnants of the past, vastly inspired architecture, overwhelming police presence, stray dogs, squatters, and tourist prices. The city’s population growth and expansion resulted in the movement of the main city centre to where Panama City is situated now, leaving Casco Viejo’s neighbourhood to decay into what Lonely Planet called ‘urban slum’. Yet now, after becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, the Casco Viejo neighbourhood is rife with restoration efforts by government, public, and private organisations. Balconies alive with flora and impeccable wooden doors are juxtaposed with squatter buildings, barely withstanding collapse. Despite the charisma of strolling down Casco’s cobbled streets, breathing in the fragments of French, Spanish Colonial, and Caribbean architecture, the poverty in the mix should not be forgotten. With tourist police on every corner, and boutique hotels and restaurants flaunting near-Western prices, the life of tourists is pitched very far from the average Panamanian dweller in this area. The squatters living directly across from our hostel, the …

Deserted Language

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Upon blistering grains, Warmed by Summer’s devote, I ponder a forgotten language, That I’m sure we once all spoke.   There sitting in the open space, Cactus, thoughts, and I, Mountains gazing, grasp my fears, The moon watches with a sigh.   With grace, she silently beams bright, And reminds me to take a breath, “This darkened desert is your friend, my dear, Look closer at its breadth”.   Dilated pupils view the dusk, Softly turning into night, Portals to future and past abound, So many stars in sight.   Unfamiliar music engulfs within, As Coyotes harmonise, Rattling beats sliver through the wind, Vibrations sprint down spine.   Restful, peaceful, sleep sustains, Desert air attempts to cool, Moon dances her way towards the West, Sun reaches up with his all.   Fiery intensity warms again, Coyotes pause their song, I must speak this language once again, To connect with where I’m from.