Propagate

Installation by Ikram Eloualid and Elizabeth Hurtado
October 8-November 5, 2016
Opening reception Saturday, October 8 from 6:00-8:00 pm
Artists will be in attendance

Propagate by Ikram Eloualid and Elizabeth Hurtado, stabilized compressed earth cubes

Propagate tells a story that begins with the primordial formation of dirt particles that traveled through light, water, air, and time, to find themselves in this new composition. For the artists, compressed earth is representative of a building system whose roots are ancient and whose benefits are great but generally unrecognized, misunderstood and under-researched. This work is inspired by a belief in the potentials of earth construction as a revived and modernized art, re-engineered for durability. Earth, stabilized with a small percentage of cement, finds its form and strength through confinement and curing. Earthen cubes are arranged in a self-organizing phyllotactic pattern, an array which naturally emerges in dynamic biological systems. Linking a terrestrial material with the rationality of form, Propagate is a bridge between past and future, mystery and logic, and above all, harmony and earth.

Elizabeth Hurtado obtained a Master of Fine Arts from the University of North Texas in 2005. She is a practicing artist, art educator and Permaculture design consultant. Concurrently, Elizabeth attends the University of Texas at Arlington as a Master of Architecture candidate. Hurtado's work has been exhibited in Indiana, Vermont, California, and extensively in the north central region of Texas.

Ikram Eloualid, originally from Morocco, obtained a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2015. Currently, Ikram attends the University of Texas at Arlington as a Master of Architecture candidate. She is a teaching assistant at the College of Architecture at UTA with experience in the digital fabrication consortium, and was recently awarded the ARCC King student medal for excellence in architectural and environmental design research.