Local Chroma

Tetei Cornejo (Mexico)

Do we pay enough attention to our local surroundings? 

During her residency at the Art, Science and Technology Laboratory of Tecnologico de Monterrey, the artist Tetei Cornejo conducted in-depth research on the different species of native and foreign flora that inhabit the university campus.

Attracted by its biodiversity, the artist developed an alphanumeric language that uses features such as saturation, hue, and shadow to generate highly accurate descriptions of plant colours. This system assigns numbers and letters to these parameters, which produces unique and precise formulas for each colour.
Take a closer look at the Local Chroma series of monochrome paintings to appreciate on a human scale the rich colour palette of the cottonwood, anacahuita, pigweed, ficus elastica and philodendron plants. You can scan the codes for each canvas colour to visualize the species in augmented reality.

Through this language, the artist invites us to stop and observe more closely what surrounds us and to reflect on the complexity and diversity of the nature we are part of.

Tetei Cornejo is a Mexican artist. Through botanical illustration, intimate writing and technology, her practice focuses on life, movement and everything that exists beyond the reach of human perception, making visible connections that reveal how she relates to nature from her human and female condition. Cornejo is an artist in resistance at the Art, Science and Technology Laboratory of Tecnológico de Monterrey. She has participated in programs such as the Bienal FEMSA y Las Artes Monterrey, and in exhibitions in independent spaces and museums such as the Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey and the Centro Cultural Plaza Fátima. Since 2015, she has directed educational programs focused on art and science. Recently, she received the 2022 Premio Estatal de Arte Nuevo León.