Paloma Menéndez is an artist and educator based in Mérida, Yucatán, whose work explores space and place through painting and drawing, conveying the geographical features of the landscape as well as alternative ones derived from her imagination.

For her residency at BoxoPROJECTS, Paloma has been working on a series of encaustic and oil paintings that convey the idea of the Joshua tree as host and nurturing agent to many desert species, an analogy to the Tree of Life or the Mexican Arbol de la Vida. These trees are symbols not only of the origins of humanity and paradise but also of growth, death and rebirth.

From the intricate Joshua tree pollination method by the Tegeticula moth to being home to birds, snakes, lizards and rodents, these trees provide shelter and food for wildlife, whether alive or dead. Paloma reflects, “The idea of a single tree that supports and nurtures so many other species in this vast and dry terrain, seems to me the ideal metaphor for care and protection of life, fertility and immortality, interconnection of all forms of creation.”

About the Artist: Paloma Menéndez was born in Mexico City, attended Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado, La Esmeralda, México, DF and is a faculty member at Escuela Superior de Artes de Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán. Her work has been shown in exhibitions at local, national and international regions, including in México, United States, Germany, Austria and France. She finds inspiration in nature as well as in an image bank of photographs, art books and the internet as well as artists Poussin, Rubens, the Northern Renaissance painters, Manet, Matisse and Munch among others.

Artist website: www.palomamenendez.com