Singing Platform
with Maestro Richard Ramírez Pëkon Kuppi
(Amazonica 2023, Iquitos, Peru)
Lorenzo Bordonaro’s Singing Platform is a profound artistic and spiritual project that embodies his ongoing exploration of the relationship between humanity and the natural world. Created during the Amazonica 23 residency in Iquitos, Peru, the platform serves as a space for meditation, reflection, and connection with the surrounding forest. Rooted in anthropological research and personal experience, the work reflects Bordonaro’s deep engagement with Shipibo culture and its rich cosmovision, which profoundly influenced the conceptual and aesthetic dimensions of the project.
Fusion of Art and Shipibo Cosmovision
Bordonaro’s encounter with the Shipibo culture and Maestro Richard Ramírez Pëkon Kuppi added a transformative layer to his original idea. The Shipibo are renowned for their intricate geometric designs known as kené, which carry deep spiritual significance. According to Shipibo mythology, these designs originated from Ronin, the Great Boa of the World, who sang the drawings into existence, forming the universe and connecting all living beings. The mythical time of unity represented by the kené was fractured due to human failings, dividing the world into three realms: the sky, the earth, and the underworld.
During ayahuasca ceremonies, Shipibo shamans use songs called icaros to reconnect with this primal unity. The icaros are considered sonic expressions of the kené, creating a link between sound and vision, between the spiritual and physical worlds. The shaman, as a master of the icaros, can "sing" the appropriate kené into a patient’s body to heal and restore harmony. This sacred relationship between sound, design, and healing became central to Bordonaro’s work.
The Platform as a Space of Union
Under the guidance of Maestro Richard, Bordonaro participated in ayahuasca ceremonies, experiencing firsthand the Shipibo understanding of interconnectedness. Inspired by these visions, he recreated a complex Shipibo design on the meditation platform. When seated at the center of the sculpture, the user is physically surrounded by this intricate pattern, which extends outward into the forest—symbolically reconnecting them with the natural world and the mythical dimension of unity. The platform becomes a vessel for communion, where the boundary between self and nature dissolves, evoking the Shipibo vision of a harmonious cosmos.
Materiality and Impermanence
The construction of the platform reflects Bordonaro's sensitivity to environmental and ethical issues. He sourced wood through Peruvian government-approved sawmills to ensure compliance with sustainable forestry practices—a necessary consideration in a region plagued by illegal logging.
Furthermore, Bordonaro embraced the natural impermanence of the work. Wood in the Amazon will inevitably be reclaimed by the forest, broken down by insects, fungi, and rain. Rather than resisting this process, Bordonaro sees it as an essential part of the work’s life cycle. The platform is designed to be reintegrated into the ecosystem, reinforcing the theme of interconnectedness and the natural cycle of creation and decay.
Collaborative and Performative Expansion
The project also fostered creative collaboration. Roxana Barba, a fellow resident at Amazonica 23, created and performed a choreography inspired by Shipibo designs directly on the platform. Her movement mirrored the geometric patterns of the kené, transforming the installation into a living, breathing extension of Shipibo art and cosmovision. This performative element added another layer of sensory and spiritual engagement, reinforcing the platform’s role as a site of creative and spiritual communion.
Art as a Bridge Between Worlds
The Singing Platform exemplifies Bordonaro's broader artistic vision: using art as a bridge between human consciousness and the natural world. By merging anthropological insight with artistic practice, the project invites visitors to experience a state of non-separation—a return to the primal unity envisioned in Shipibo mythology. The platform stands as both an aesthetic object and a spiritual tool, dissolving the artificial boundary between humanity and nature, art and ritual, body and cosmos.
