Danka Palacios — Malezario Indómito, Guatemala 2023
Solo exhibition · 2023 · Guatemala Malezario Indómito

A philosophical and visual exploration of weeds — the resilient, the marginal, the overlooked — through cyanotype.

+30 Pieces
50 Artist zines
3 Activities
Listen to the exhibition playlist
Wall text

Malezario Indómito

In this exhibition, I explore the philosophy of weeds and their capacity to flourish in the most inhospitable places. Through cyanotype, I have captured the essence of their existence, weaving together nature and science in an ethereal dance.

Weeds teach us that even in the most adverse circumstances, growth and beauty can emerge.

Through each carefully selected image, I enter the realm of the forgotten and the marginalised. Cyanotype, with its subtlety and depth, allows me to explore the nuances and textures of these plants, revealing a universe hidden from plain sight.

By uniting nature and science, I weave a bond between two seemingly opposing forms of knowledge. The weed, with its indomitable spirit, teaches me that science and nature are not separate entities, but interconnected aspects of a single existence.

I invite you to enter this exhibition, to open your hearts and minds to the magic of the unexpected — to recognise the beauty in what we so often overlook, and to value the resilience that lies within every living being.

Malezario Indómito — large cyanotype on the floor, colonial doorway
The full project

More than an exhibition

01 Original cyanotypes

Series of 30+ pieces in different formats — from small cyanotypes on watercolour paper to large-format works mounted in yellow frames, chosen as a vibrant counterpoint to Prussian blue.

02 Artist zine · edition of 50

A unique editorial object: a digitalised cyanotype that folds into a zine with scientific information about weeds. Unfolded, it reveals a letter-format poster. Each copy includes an original unique cyanotype on watercolour paper.

03 Cyanotype workshop

Custom-designed kits created to transmit the process. The exhibition was not only meant to be seen — it was meant to teach. The workshop was a space of encounter between technique, botany and visitors.

04 Flash tattoos · weeds

Ariz, tattoo artist and friend, offered flash tattoos of weeds as part of the exhibition programme — extending the plants from paper onto the skin of those who wanted to carry a weed with them.

Cyanotype workshop — Malezario Indómito Cyanotype workshop
Flash tattoos — weeds · Malezario Indómito Flash tattoos · Ariz
The soundtrack

The exhibition also had a sound

Each visitor could scan the code and walk through the pieces accompanied by this playlist — music selected to inhabit the same slow time as weeds.

Listen on Spotify
QR — Malezario Indómito playlist
Scan & listen
Malezario Indómito — artist zine, edition of 50 ~5 remaining
Take the exhibition home

Malezario Indómito
Artist zine

A folded cyanotype print that becomes a zine on one side and a poster on the other. Each of the 50 copies includes a unique original cyanotype on watercolour paper — no two are the same. Approximately 5 copies remain.

Get the zine →