A Pattern In Time is a multidisciplinary art exhibition exploring the intersection between celebration, repetition, and healing. With sound and a tactile installation, stop-motion animation, and collages made with my fabric designs, I invite viewers to experience joy through a visual rhythm of colour, patterns, and textures. This exhibition draws on five years of work examining how dance, music, and visual arts contribute to collective restoration.

When I experienced anxiety and information overload in my art career, I always found solace in drawing. The repetition of traditional frame-by-frame animation was especially meditative, and it eventually translated into surface pattern design. I began to approach fabric design not as a commercial product, but as an expansive and rhizomatic canvas that reflected the consistency my mind sought during anxious times.

My mind found similar solace when attending events involving music, dance, and social interaction. Celebration can balance stress and anxiety, foster hope, sustain community identity, and transmit cultural values. Neuroscience suggests that repetitive drawing may engage reward pathways like those activated by music and dance: the brain synchronizes with external rhythms, enhancing pleasure and social connection. In addition, the convergence of ritual elements such as dance, music, and costuming encourages community collaboration and help create an aesthetic experience that promotes healing.

In 2022-2023, I attended two major celebrations in Colombia: the Blacks and Whites Carnival in Pasto and the Cali Fair in Cali. To bring this collective and vibrant experience to life, I created textile patterns that narrate the stories of these celebrations. Since carnivals in Colombia blend Afro-descendant, Indigenous, and Spanish influences, I designed each fabric with a cultural root in mind, particularly those observed during parades and concerts. Braids and hats reference women working in the fields and allude to the caretakers of food and abundance. The jaguar, often featured on monumental floats, serves as an allegorical echo of the Galeras Volcano’s roar, a powerful presence in southern Colombia’s landscape and culture. The jaguar also symbolizes inner strength, intuition, and the ability to navigate uncertainty. The bells tied to dancers’ ankles signal the start of the celebration with their entrancing rhythm, while salsa dancers, through their energy, skill, and striking costumes, embody the vibrant spirit of the festivities.

This project captures the healing joy found in both individual and collective activities  centered around visual and embodied rhythms.