The search for a home
The Sculpture Garden and its constructions respond to the long and inexhaustible search of its creator, Edward James, to find a home.
El General Waterfall and pillars (1947/1984) by Edward JamesJardín Escultórico Edward James, Las Pozas
The Garden of Eden
At the same time, Edward James was looking for a language of his own and a space that would allow him to have the freedom to be himself and to create; the Garden of Eden that he had dreamed of since he was a child.
This new fertile territory would allow Edward James to develop both, his will, and his creative and free spirit in multiple aspects. In addition, of course, to an undeniable connection with nature.
Nestled in nature
The location of this place was inaccessible for a long time. This made the garden a place of solitude, ideal, free, and nestled in nature.
A bond with nature
Edward James's bond with nature was definitive in his life, and beyond offering him a space of comfort, the vegetation of the jungle, its fauna and its river made him feel reborn every time he visited Xilitla, it could even de said that they signified his salvation.
The garden and its nature occupied a fundamental place for James's thinking process, and the development of his emotions, dreams, and fantasies. It also allowed him to find inspiration to write his poetry.
Striated clouds (1947/1984) by Edward JamesJardín Escultórico Edward James, Las Pozas
Connections with the nature of Xilitla
The open field of Xilitla and its impartial and elusive force were synonymous with refuge and peace. The closeness and connection with natural forces embodied a possibility of strength and protection.
Ruin
James's garden responds to a whole aesthetic tradition of ruin, where he acts as co-creator and establishes negotiations with the wild and natural environment.
This garden was the one that interested James, where nature grows, is independent and unsubordinated. In his garden, the vegetation resists, advances, envelops, competes, and wins against the concrete structures.
Pillars at Bamboo palace (1947/1984) by Edward JamesJardín Escultórico Edward James, Las Pozas
Another possible reality
The garden of Xilitla also reincarnates the constant struggle that James waged against the systems and economies that limited, saddened, and oppressed him throughout his life. It is the pinnacle of his desires, his freedom and his creations and it is also the symbol of his poetry and the path towards another possible reality.
Text from: Pedro and Elena Hernández Foundation CSO, 2019, unpublished work.
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