Andrea Ling: Good Chance Commissioned Artist on ‘PACHA’
Good Chance Commissioned Artist Andrea Ling tells us about PACHA, an installation that explores ecology, heritage and connectedness.
About Andrea
Andrea Ling is a Bolivian-Chinese-British interdisciplinary artist and director whose work advocates for social change and connection through art. Her practice explores decolonialism, indigenous knowledge and approaches to co-created/co-curated art projects within communities under the arts company PACHA PEOPLE.
Andrea invites audiences to PACHA, an interactive-touch-audio installation of plants and soil, co-made with Hackney residents. Designed to rekindle our bond with nature, the installation is a decolonial response to the climate crisis celebrating the voices of people whose identity and heritage is from the global south, offering an alternative way forward to the world. PACHA has been designed to be fully accessible.
Can you tell us a bit about PACHA, the installation you’ve created for the Museum of the Home, and why you wanted to make it?
My experience of climate discussion and, sometimes climate action, was very global-north in thinking and dominated by mono perspectives. I was searching for a grass roots way to incite positive change within communities and create a space for people from the global majority to get together. For me, it made sense to run workshops where we learned collectively, discussed ideas and then shared our findings with a wider audience.
The other reason: I realised that I, and others, had lost our bond with nature and with it our knowledge of the local area. I wanted to establish a fun, creative way to rekindle that knowledge. So, in the installation when you touch the soil, you hear backstories.
What was it like to work with the mentorship of Gareth Fry?
Gareth is brilliant and not solely a sound designer. His knowledge in new tech, sensors and VR really fed the project. For PACHA, we used very simple tech that has been around for ages, but we really explored its potential, the various forms it could take and all the different avenues it enabled us to venture down. I felt educated, inspired and gained some new skills. His guidance has changed how I make work, providing me with new, technical ways to explore an idea. Gareth was so generous with his time and clearly enjoys what he does. We both have a curious itch for the “what if”.
Can you tell us about the significance of your piece’s title?
The word ‘pacha’ dates back to Incan times and was used in Aymaran & Quechuan languages. Pacha can have many meanings including world, earth, time and space. I am Andean and found pacha a wonderful way to encapsulate many ideas, people and cultures on this planet. It is a simple phrase which encompasses, physically and spiritually, the earth we live on. Also, the word is directly reflected in the values of the work; a community project connecting BIPOC communities with nature.
As the Museum's work is all about different ideas of home - when you hear the word home, what is the first image that comes to mind?
Mountains, La Paz, Bolivia.
What do you hope your audience will take away from PACHA?
A rekindling of their connection with nature. To instigate a curiosity for earth, biodiversity, indigenous knowledge and future ideas.
Andrea’s installation will be exhibited in ‘Home, Migration, Belonging’ at the Museum of the Home from 12 April to 2 May 2022, alongside other commissioned artists Basel Zaraa and Hamed Moradi. All three installations are free and open to everyone!
