Through the use of indigenous Muysca and Pastos concepts, patterns, and forms alongside the conjunction of everyday life, I aim to bring to attention the question, what is the meaning of being human?
    My studio practice involves the reconstruction and implementation of my native visual languages as well as reclaiming vital relationships between people and other outside systems.  I see my work as an exploration of my humanity, language, and history. An artistic practice that interacts with the community, and function alongside and beyond the context of visual art. Clay, wood, gold, and silver hold a special place in my creative spirit, the vocabulary of these materials is what gave birth to my indigenous visual language and I honor this heritage by having these materials being an integral part of my work.
    Whether it is through ceramic vessels or figures, wooden furniture or tools, gold tunjos or jewelry, my art preserves as well as grows our cultural heritage in a contemporary setting.  By nature of expressing my humanity, the work I create becomes a political statement of resistance against a world that has mistakenly viewed my people to have been lost, forgotten or belonging to the past.


                                                                                                                         -Mario A Mutis R