Is there a difference between them and us? Are Las Otras disconnected from the rest? Or amplified? Or saturated? Or rather, polarised? Las Otras are an energy in motion, interconnected structures that reflect action. In a world that reduces shared space and encourages individualism, disconnecting us from what is different, Las Otras invites us to adjust and tune into that difference—with ourselves and with those Others—understanding that we coexist in a world where those Others are a fundamental part of ourselves. It's time to ground ourselves. Understanding ourselves as a single network.

Based on this vision, Las Otras is a group of wooden sculptures assembled in an installation like a tribe.

Painting and sculpture coexist, wooden pieces fit together, and rings intertwine with one another. Rhythm, sequence, compass, and diverse forms converge in living pieces that relate to movement and music as something habitual, connecting us to creation by immersing us in the sensorial dimension of one particular kind of sound. Flowing, running, open, moist, in constant motion.

This series of turned-wooden pieces was born under the title song Dancing with Myself by Billy Idol. They reflect that joy or euphoria experienced in the studio when "...everything flows and you can feel yourself dancing with yourself as part of a whole," like a ritual or a way of building a bridge to the other side.

There is an enormous diversity of dancing styles across the world's cultures, each with its own codes, techniques, modes of execution, and attire. I assign a particular dance style to each sculpture as a form of personal classification that accompanies the creative process: Capoeira, Conga, Popping, Breaking, Hip Hop.

Although the forms, meanings, and purposes have evolved over time, dance has always been a vital part of human existence, serving as a ritual, ceremonial, or artistic expression, as well as a form of social connection and transformation.

Las Otras intertwines the concept of duality, understanding creation as a dual and vital force that encompasses complementary opposites, such as body and matter, rhythm and movement, care and intuition, us and others. Like a bridge, Las Otras connects us with the pillars we build upwards and with the weight of the chains that carry us underground or to our depths.

I fulfil my purpose with my body as a place of encounter where an essential tension arises from the decisions I make when developing each piece. This tension is evident in my approach, which involves painting with an airbrush, following the grain of the wood, introducing external elements, or even incorporating the material´s accidents as alternative paths. Through sequences of color, I could say that the sculptures explore human relationships through play as well as the other versions of ourselves and those Others: Las Otras are situated between good and evil, between above and below, reimagining the idea of ​​the totem as a set of ancestralities, independent pieces linked by freedom and diversity, serving as a symbols of cultural connection.

Amalia Valdés