Chilean artists Felipe Assadi and Catalina Zarhi recently visited Awasi Iguazu, our 14 villa Relais & Chateaux hotel hidden away in virgin rainforest on the banks of the River Iguazu, as part of our ongoing Awasi Artist Immersion programme.

Catalina Zarhi working on the installation Confluencia
Zarhi, a ceramicist, and Assadi, an architect, are married, and collaborate together.
Assadi knows Awasi well; in fact, he designed Awasi Patagonia, our lodge in Torres del Paine in Chile’s Southern Patagonia, where 14 standalone villas scatter the hillside, offering spectacular views of the Torres del Paine massif and the vast expanse of Patagonia beyond.

Awasi Patagonia, Torres del Paine, Chile, designed by architect Felipe Assadi
Awasi Artist Immersion
Awasi Iguazu is situated on the banks of the Iguazu River, which divides (or combines, depending on the perspective) Argentina and Brazil, something that inspired the artistic duo during their stay.
“It is this unique landscape that attracts us to Iguazú” Assadi explains. “Beyond the local culture, its history, and traditions lies the region’s geography which has drawn us here.”
“We accepted the challenge of crafting something that engages us with the environment, inspired by its geography,” he continues.

Kayaking on the river near Awasi Iguazu
Confluencia, a sculpture woven from cotton rope and sticks collected from the Atlantic Rainforest, was one of the results of their stay. The piece symbolises the convergence of the two bordering countries, united by the flow of water, making use of wood found in the forest and natural rope to bind it together.

Confluencia is made from natural materials; the combed cotton rope represents the rivers that characterise the region
Natural puzzles
Assadi goes on to explain the process used to develop the sculpture, once the couple had settled on the concept. “We began by tying knots one way, then another, varying rope lengths and stick shapes until the puzzle came together.”

Organic patterns: mushrooms growing on a tree trunk in the Misiones rainforest
The use of new materials and the challenges of working with natural products found from the forest itself lends a rustic, raw and wild element to the composition, something appreciated by the couple as they got to work.
The ties that bind: the earth

The distinctive red soil of the land around the Iguazu River
“As a ceramicist, my raw material is the soil. I spend all day working with it” says Zarhi. “I am constantly hands-on with the material” she continues, describing how weaving the rope provided further texture to the piece and allowed her to bind the elements, as a river meandering through a forest.
Assadi, the architect, goes on, emphasising the importance of the use of texture and materials: “I work with the earth; I build upon it.”
In Chile, both artists have been shaped by a seismic, geographical context – literally given Chile is an active zone characterised by regular earthquakes and volcanic activity – which has given them a unique vision and inspiration for their work, inherently tied to the land.
At Iguazu, they wanted to use the unique river world of Iguazu to create a work that “embodies the essence of what brings us all to this place.”

A green river world, bountiful and diverse
The ties that bind: the river
Assadi, as an architect, is primarily concerned with structure.
“Confluence is where the two rivers intersect” he explains. “These are shaped by geographical accidents that, despite originating from the same river, give the impression that both countries converge at this point.”
“The two tree branches collected on-site represent the Brazilian and Argentine riverbanks, symbolising their connection,” adds Zarhi. “Combed cotton ropes represent the river waters converging at this point.”

Mushrooms collected from the bountiful forest floor
Moving waters
Venturing into the jungle to collect the sticks, scattering blue butterflies as they walked, Assadi and Zarhi found themselves affected by their immersion in the rainforest.
“The water creates a significant basin, a geographical void that, rather than separating the countries, in some ways binds them together” ponders Zarhi.
“It was deeply moving because the final work reflects what we aimed to represent, evoking a sense of the waterfall’s water with a remarkably noble material, blending poetry with fragility.”

Bright details of the natural world surrounding Awasi
At Awasi, we believe that Nature and Art are deeply intertwined. They are both valuable, fragile and essential for human beings.
Over the past years, we have found ourselves collaborating with artists, providing a setting amongst nature where each one could find unique inspiration.
Awasi was conceived from the idea that every journey should intimately connect us with nature to deeply discover new destinations and to enrich our own existence, with the Awasi Artist Immersion programme designed to inspire, elevate and transform.