La Nueva Fábrica is pleased to host the 24th Paiz Art Biennial. Curated by Eugenio Viola, The World Tree spans various locations across Guatemala City and Antigua Guatemala.

It is inspired by the “Tree of Life,” an archetypal myth central to many ancient traditions. In Maya cosmogony, The World Tree represents the axis mundi—the connections between the different levels of existence.

The World Tree is conceived as a decentralized, multilayered system that challenges traditional geopolitical frameworks while connecting cultural genealogies from Mesoamerica and Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania. In a world where global connectivity often coexists with growing intolerance, it functions as a counter-cartography of resistance and regeneration.

Much like the synaptic mapping of the “dendritic tree” in neuroscience, which traces the complex connections within neural networks, The World Tree draws a constellation of voices—a fluid diagram of human relationships, social bonds, and cultural exchanges. It links different times and experiences: the horizontal and the vertical, the ancestral and the present, the collective and the individual, the ephemeral and the utopian, rupture and regeneration. It is grounded in humanity’s shared history to reconsider how we approach identity and diversity, unity and multiplicity.

Rooted in the transformative power of art, The World Tree harnesses its potential to provoke reflection, evoke emotion, and inspire action. It celebrates art’s capacity to connect distant universes and to embrace and respect all possible differences.

At La Nueva Fábrica, the artists engage in dialogue with The World Tree, weaving an exchange that addresses the contradictions of our present while delving into myths that transcend geographical and historical boundaries.

Deeply rooted in Maya worldviews, Ximena Garrido-Lecca’s installation envisions The World Tree as the axis mundi, a sacred conduit linking the earth, the underworld, and the sky.

Anchoring the tree in human experience, Luz Lizarazo’s monumental cosmogony moves from mythical archetypes to narratives about the feminine condition, resonating with the fragmented bodily forms of Patricia Belli, which oscillate between material discard and emotional wounds.

Meanwhile, Alevtina Kakhidze’s work, grounded in her daily experience of the war in Ukraine, frames The World Tree as a symbol of resilience and survival. Igor Grubić evokes participatory activism in a post-pandemic world, proposing The World Tree as a symbol of militant ecology, both individual and collective.

Merging Maya mythology with extended-reality technologies, Balam Soto extends this reverence to reimagine The World Tree as a cosmological bridge that connects and activates cybernetic and ancestral worlds.

This intersection between tradition and innovation also emerges in the work of Zhang Xu Zhan, who explores Southeast Asian folklore, particularly in the context of Taiwanese ceremonial costumes.

Together, these artists present a powerful narrative that elevates The World Tree as a vital bridge between the social, political, spiritual, and cultural realms—uniting diverse histories and concerns in a collective vision of renewal and hopeful justice.

Image: Erik Boror, El árbol del mundo, 2025. Courtesy of the 24th Paiz Art Biennial.