"The Semillas, or Seeds, are cultural objects, of course, and readymades taken from nature itself. There is no subjective artistic expression in their forms but rather the proof of a method to rescue the essence of a sphere within a root or tree trunk."
- Jaime Miranda-Bambarén
Jaime Miranda-Bambarén is a Peruvian sculptor born and currently residing in Lima, Perú. He received his training in the field of arts at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú in Lima where he completed his degree in sculpture and later pursued postgraduate studies at the Chelsea College of Arts in London. Miranda-Bambarén is an artist deeply entrenched in the art of sculpting wood, considering it one of the most exquisite materials due to its ability to encapsulate accumulated experiences of growth and development. For the artist, wood is a material overflowing with life, rich in history, and closely linked to humanity. Set apart from materials like stone in the field of sculpture, which can appear to be inert, from a classical perspective.
Furthermore, wood holds a unique attribute that Jaime Miranda-Bambarén has explored, particularly its spiritual significance. This material serves as a vessel for a profound tradition of worldviews, and to delve into this aspect, Miranda-Bambarén extensively traveled through the Andes and the Amazon rainforest. His creations, known as Semillas, or Seeds, are almost spherical forms that establish a direct connection not only with the organic world not only with the organic world but also with the cultural and spiritual world that constitutes a significant part of the essence and energy of Peru.
When asked about his oeuvre and Semillas series in particular, Miranda-Bambarén expresses the following:
“The Semillas, or Seeds, are cultural objects, of course, and readymades taken from nature itself. There is no subjective artistic expression in their forms but rather the proof of a method to rescue the essence of a sphere within a root or tree trunk."
They are also recipients of that area of imagination of those who participate in their processes. From the exhumation of the roots rescued in the Peruvian countryside needed to create them, to their contextual placement in the urban imagination of Lima, Madrid, Manhattan, soon Bogotá, and many other cities.
When, during the carving of the Seeds, one thinks, for instance, “New York occurs in our minds,” the idea of the Magician is thus expressed. The Magician is that category within a system that interests me as it is made up of three ascending levels, that are distinct yet intertwined: the Artisan, the Artist, and the Magician.
The Semillas, or Seeds, are the archeology of rural and urban fantasies. Receivers and transmitters of stories. Their journeys from the countryside to the city, and to cyberspace in their documentation, are machinery for manufacturing shared and collective myths.
"They are, and I say this with vehemence, an inevitable spell that is planted in the memory of those who encounter them."
- Jaime Miranda-Bambarén
Lima, September 26th, 2023
Today, Jaime Miranda-Bambarén’s works can be found at the Lima Art Museum (MALI) and in MICROMUSEO ("al fondo hay sitio"), as well as in private collections in Peru, Colombia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Spain.