Working Process & Community Alliance

The operational foundation of the project began in the surrounding village of Colchani, rooted in the ancestral trade of cutting salt blocks used for local architecture. This demanding craft is carried out as a collective effort, organized by one of the community’s elders alongside younger generations who sustain the traditional practice. Establishing contact through this communal labor served as the gateway to the territory; it was this initial encounter with the elder that opened the path and connected the expedition with his extended family, the Quispe Flores Mamani.

Over three weeks of intense coexistence, this large, interconnected family became the core collaborative force behind the project. The working process moved from shared daily rhythms to the execution of precise acts of intensity within the salt flat. By standing together upon the hand-cut salt blocks amid the reflective, flooded expanse, these collaborative actions transformed a traditional survival craft into a powerful, living monument written directly onto the landscape.