Jasmine Baetz + Christian Vistan’s The Cactus Packing Project (2016) was hosted by WNDW at 943 E 10th Ave.

Baetz and Vistan are interested in their nomadic identities and personal histories. The Cactus Packing Project is an ongoing collaboration that grew out of the time Vistan and Baetz spent in Vancouver together, and is inspired by the sculptural assemblage forms that Baetz’s cactus, Jorge, took when packed for a move.

In 2014, Baetz and Vistan started sending cacti to each other in the post, observing and documenting the symptoms and logistics of border-crossing transactions and transitory bodies, such as the cacti.

Baetz, originally from Ontario has resided in Mexico, British Columbia, and the United States, and is currently based in Boston; while Vistan, originally from Bataan, Philippines, currently resides in Vancouver. Both Baetz and Vistan are interested in how this jumble of locations and their specific histories relate to their respective identities. In confronting this puzzle of identity, Baetz and Vistan are considering how locales and local histories relate to their work and to the larger issues of displacement, nomads and nomadism(s).

Photos:

Lexie Owen

Support:

The BC Arts Council

The City of Vancouver’s Parks Board

The City of Vancouver Cultural Services

The Vancouver Foundation