The Reserve encapsulates a process of exploration by artist Miler Lagos, sparked by the gift of a fragment from the trunk of a century-old tree felled in the Rosales neighborhood of Bogotá. The stump reveals the clear marks of the saw —scars that both wound and enrich its surface with textures foreign to the natural grain of the wood. The process begins through a dialogue between Lagos and the remains of the tree, where the nuances born from the interaction between the metal blade and the cut wood are revealed.
Using large-format paper specially crafted by Luis Ángel Parra, and through the support of PLART, Lagos embarks on an inquiry into the imprints of metal upon wood, culminating in a series of woodcuts in which the surface of the wood remains uncarved beyond the traces left by the saw. To achieve this, he constructs a custom printing press of monumental scale, large enough to hold both the massive trunk and the delicate paper. For the printing medium, Lagos experiments with different metals—echoing the material of the saw that cut the tree. The result is a constellation of unique prints, created through the passage of gold, bronze, and other metals—elements that no longer mutilate the tree but pay tribute to its age, transcribing the scars of its felling onto paper.
With the shift toward a digital economy, we have lost awareness of the fact that every hundred pesos was once backed by a peso of gold, carefully stored in international reserves under the guardianship of the Bank of England. Today, however, we increasingly recognize that a nation’s wealth can no longer be measured by the same parameters as twenty or thirty years ago. The most biodiverse countries are becoming the most valued in a global economy that can no longer ignore the effects of climate change. From this perspective, the natural reserves we possess stand as the true international reserves—immovable, non-transferable, and entrusted to no other nation. Yet, they remain fragile, dependent on delicate ecological balances, subtle variations in water and wind, and the slow, enduring rhythm of time. Above all, they rely on our contemplation, reverence, and respect.
Through La Reserva, Miler Lagos presents a paper currency born from the memory of the saw’s passage through the tree’s body—a work situated between printmaking and installation, forming a kind of numismatic collection that looks toward the future while rooted in the millennial temporality of nature.
