I start from the mythological being of the Lamia, connected to water-dwelling entities from other cultures, who lives in and cares for the rivers of the Basque Country. I draw on her essence, awareness, and position to reach a body that transforms, a corporeality that coexists with and is part of its ecosystem. By being and belonging, I approach a body that is constructed through the relationship between figure and landscape.

I decided to give a name to this being who lives in the river of my affection: Ophelia. Like the one Shakespeare submerged in water, and whom Millais captured in her final breath up to our present day. Like the one who now remains as part of the river. Taking as a starting point the gesture in Millais’s painting Ophelia (1852), through the constant repetition of its composition—articulating and disarticulating the body’s posture and its coexistence with the river and the flora—I attempt to reach the essence of the being, staying attentive to that which vibrates and generates an obsession with the scene. I focus on the coexistence of the flowers (landscape) with the figure: the moment in which she becomes part of the ecosystem that surrounds her.

Irati Inoriza (Balmaseda, 1992). She holds a degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Basque Country (2015) and complemented her education at the Performance Studio led by Tomáš Ruller in Brno (2013–2014). Her work has been presented in various international contexts such as Farm Cultural Park (WHITE FARM, Sicily, 2014), the 24th Audiovisual Exhibition in collaboration with the BBVA Foundation (Bilbao, 2012), and the 15th Mits Dáielo I Art Festival (Valencia, 2012). She has participated in several editions of ARTESHOP (Bilbao, 2013 and 2015) and in exhibitions organized by Hotel Carlton (Bilbao, 2013 and 2014).

She has also been part of projects and festivals such as Happening in DIOD (Czech Republic, 2014), Performance Festival Malamut (Ostrava, 2013), Activation of Moravská Galerie v Brno (Brno, 2013), From A to B at Sala Rekalde (Bilbao, 2013), and Labo-III at Sala Araba (Vitoria, 2013). At a local level, she has participated in group exhibitions in different Kultur Etxeak (cultural centers) in the Basque Country, such as Emakumeak (Amurrio, 2013), Procesos en torno al espacio (Ermua, 2014), and Exposición de pintura (Balmaseda, 2012).