INTRODUCTION

Curious.
Ambivert.
Active member
of communities.

Phoography: Oaxaca Institute of Graphic Arts

Hi, I’m Berenice Zambrano (Tabasco, 1987), aka @darkolina. I engage in multidisciplinary research, art, and design, driven by the political and the collective. My practice explores the intersection of the possible and the real through creative and cultural perspectives. I was born in southern Mexico, lived in Mexico City for eleven years, and later moved to Madrid (2018–2021). I currently reside in Valencia, Spain, and my career spans projects across Mexico, Latin America, and Europe.

I find inspiration in "los sures" (southern regions) as territories of resistance, as well as in Oaxaca, hammocks, mango seasons, bicycles, the fungal world, and musical genres like techno, ambient, and cumbia. Voices like those of Arturo Escobar, Isaura Leonardo, Yásnaya E. Gil, Alf Bojórquez, Gabriela Jauregui, Javier Raya, Brenda Navarro... have been key references in my search to reimagine ways of inhabiting and relating. These influences materialize in my practice through counter-artifacts, tools that challenge dominant narratives and open up spaces to explore alternatives between the real and the possible.

Among my most notable projects is 'Agua para Ayutla ¡YA!' (2020), a documentary I co-led to highlight the water crisis faced by an Indigenous community in the Sierra Mixe of Oaxaca, and 'Space X Trauma', an audiovisual installation I co-directed and presented at 'Freit(T)räume' in Amsterdam (2022), exploring the connections between trauma, public space, and collective healing.

In October 2024, I developed 'Read a Poem Like a Photo. Read a Photo Like a Map. Read a Map Like a Poem' during an art residency in Eubea, Greece, with Loop (PROSPER).. This project examines the intersections between poetry, imagery, and territory as ways to represent and reinterpret realities, connecting to my ongoing interest in questioning the narratives that shape our perception of space and time.

One of my ongoing projects is 'Talleres contra la Desesperanza' (initiated in 2024), a local response to Mark Fisher's statement: "It’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism." These workshops aim to envision alternative futures and propose radical ways of inhabiting and relating, creating spaces for collective speculation. So far, sessions have been held at Casa Tomada and IAGO.

I have also participated in initiatives such as Inteligencia Colectiva para la Democracia en MediaLab Prado at MediaLab Prado (2017–2019), where I explored participatory tools within the framework of technopolitics, leading me to live in Madrid for three years. During this time, I also took part in a research on how artificial intelligence can enhance decision-making on participation platforms (2018). Additionally, I facilitated participatory budgeting processes in Mexico City (2018) and worked on anti-disinformation campaigns in Europe (2019–2023). I also co-led a digital lab to test visuals aimed at middle audiences on social media (2019–2022).

Although many institutional practices have deeply failed us on a social level, I still believe in the transformative power of the collective because I have experienced it. When I speak of the collective, I don’t mean just the sum of individuals but rather building through complicity, trust, listening, and care.

When I'm not designing, at a workshop or taking photos, I'm probably walking – on foot or by bike – or visiting friends, meeting new people, dancing, reading in the park, swimming or taking a nap :)

Sometimes I share thoughts about culture, leisure, and design on Ajonjolí (de algunos moles), sometimes on instagram or twitter.

interested in

The intersection between design, research and collective processes

Supporting creative and collective processes in areas such as urbanism, mobility, technopolitics, gender, feminism, sexual and affective diversity, inclusion, participation, environment, and the climate crisis...

Experiencia

2019 - Actual
Komons
Art direction & research
Madrid, España

2019 - Actual
Komons
Art direction & Product Designer
Madrid, España

2017 - 2019
Improvistos
Creative direction
Madrid, España

2015 - 2018
TEDEA
Art direction
Ciudad de México, México

2012 - 2015
Inmotion Communications
Art direction
Ciudad de México, México


Publicaciones

"Face to Face", the latest exhibition by Brian Eno in Mexico City,
Article about the exhibition that was available at the Museo San Ildefonso throughout May 2024.

Volume I. 4S Mobility Plan: Implementation's guide (Communication's section),
Secretaría de Desarrollo Agrario, Territorial y Urbano (SEDATU), Sept/2020

Agua para Ayutla YA,
Independent documentary about San Pedro and San Pablo ayutla Mixe, April 2020

Madrid Central's fall: reflections for Mexico,
La brújula, Nexos, 25/Jun/2019

Co-Designing Participatory Tools for a New Age: A Proposal for Combining Collective and Artificial Intelligences,
International Journal of Public Administration in the Digital Age, Oct-Dic/2018


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