Contemporary Ancestral Goldsmithing
Orfebrería Ancestral Contemporánea
Contemporary Ancestral Goldsmithing
2019–2026
Ariadna Canaan
The fusion of photography and digital art becomes a contemporary form of symbolic goldsmithing, where light replaces gold and constructs a new ritual body.
Contemporary Ancestral Goldsmithing: El Oro is an artistic research project exploring the connections between pre columbian goldsmithing traditions of the Caribbean and Central America and contemporary digital art.
Inspired by the ancestral cultures of the Taino, Gran Chiriqui, Cocle and Diquis regions, the project examines the symbolic, spiritual and ceremonial significance of gold, as well as its relationship with identity, transformation and the natural world.
Through photography and digital image manipulation, Ariadna Canaan, reinterprets ancestral ornaments, amulets, and ceremonial objects, creating contemporary visual compositions that evoke precious metals, organic forms and mythological figures. Developed through 2019 and 2025, the digital works explore the relationship between ancestral craftsmanship and new technologies. The project proposes technology as a new form of gold, transforming light, texture and digital imagery into contemporary symbolic objects.
