Bamboo Body: Cremation is constructed from bamboo that was partially logged as part of a forest restoration project in Costa Rica. The work traces a cyclical narrative—from deforestation to reforestation—through the transformation of bamboo into a sculptural body and its subsequent cremation.

In the performance, the Bamboo Body is burned, leaving behind soot, ash, and charcoal. This act recalls a specific historical condition: during the mid to late 20th century, the Costa Rican government incentivized charcoal production, distributing money to those who brought charcoal as proof of cleared land. In this context, charcoal functioned as “evidence” of deforestation—a material trace of ecological destruction. By 1987, nearly half of the country’s forests had been lost.

Today, Costa Rica is widely recognized for its large-scale reforestation, driven by policies that support ecological restoration. Within this shifted context, the work poses a critical question: what does charcoal signify now? Is the residue of the cremated bamboo evidence of destruction, or of regeneration?

By reframing charcoal as an unstable sign, Bamboo Body: Cremation challenges fixed interpretations of ecological action and value. It reveals how the same material can testify to opposing narratives depending on the systems that define it. In doing so, the work interrogates how environmental histories are produced, measured, and remembered—not as neutral facts, but as outcomes of political, economic, and material conditions.