#34: El Cacto (Cactus) 2008

This little woodcut called '#34: El Cacto' was created by Marina Pallares. It’s all about the push and pull of black and white, a dance of light and shadow. Look at how the lines carve out the cactus, each stroke a deliberate choice, creating texture and depth. You can almost feel the prickly surface, the rough bark, the sun-baked earth. The contrast is stark, yet it's not just about what's there, but what's been taken away, revealing the image bit by bit. See how the marks move diagonally from the lower left, to the upper right, a flurry of life in the foreground, balanced by the stillness of the central cactus. Pallares seems to be echoing the work of printmakers like Jose Guadalupe Posada who were documenting everyday life in Mexico through simple, powerful images. It’s a process, not just a picture, a conversation between artist and material, leaving us with a feeling of both the harshness and the beauty of the desert landscape.