"If my voice died on land, take it to sea level..." Rafael Alberti
“If my voice died on land / take it to sea level / and leave it on the shore” Rafael Alberti
For Ana Docavo , these verses by her uncle, the great poet Rafael Alberti, perfectly define his philosophy of life: "something similar happens to me when I'm not near the sea," the Valencian artist tells Traveler.es
Small, Ana Docavo dreamed of being Jacques Cousteau and study oceanography, well the sea is and has always been her great passion, although it was not until four years ago when she decided to dedicate herself to her body and soul.
The sea made art
The sea and art, the natural and the human, They now form the epicenter of her work, sustained by these two forces that are so opposed and at the same time so concordant.
Forgive the redundancy, it is in the sea where Ana Docavo feels precisely like a fish in water, and from him she obtains the materials with which she makes her works.
“My works are the reflection of the shapes and colors that I find when submerging myself in the sea; stars, hedgehogs, sand, wooden boards, ropes… each time it is a new surprise and a new challenge”, says Ana.
Sculpture Origin
KEEP SWIM, KEEP SWIM...
Ana Docavo was born in Valencia and after living between Madrid, Mallorca and traveling around the world for work demands, she returned to her hometown a few years ago and she is delighted.
Finally, her dream of being Jacques Cousteau was delayed, she, well, she ended up studying Agricultural Engineering and did a Master's Degree in Aquaculture, “My idea was to set up some marine farms in the Mediterranean” , she explains to Traveler.es
Nevertheless, her chance led her to be part of a prestigious publishing house for twenty years dedicated to the reproduction of medieval manuscripts.
But her dream was there, the sea was there and there is nothing stronger than a great passion: "Mine has always been the sea, so for four years, my greatest hobby is also my job".
Where does this passion for the sea come from? “I have inherited my love of the sea from my great-uncle, Rafael Alberti. His influence on my work is a matter of genetics. In the family we say that there is an 'Alberti branch', we are the most creative and lovers of the sea. We carry it in our blood”, says Ana.
And it is that, as Cousteau said: “In the sea there is no present, past or future, only peace”, and the place in the world where Ana feels the most peace is underwater.
Ana Docavo: the artist of the oceans
ART AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
If there is a phrase that can condense Docavo's philosophy, it is undoubtedly this: "art, my instrument to fight climate change".
During her travels in search of inspiration and materials for her works, Ana realized that "If we don't act now, there will be no turning back and our grandchildren will not be able to dive among corals or meet many marine species."
Currently, “I link each project to a charitable cause and I try to make future generations aware of the need to take care of the environment”, she tells us.
Sculpture Origin
DOCAVO: AN ETERNAL ROMANCE BETWEEN THE SEA AND ART
Docavo is a project where the adjectives artisanal, unique and solidary make sense in wonderful pieces which are a true ode to the ocean.
In addition, all of them are limited editions, made in Spain with recycled marine materials or handcrafted by Ana with porcelain.
In short, “solidarity art to save the oceans”, and also, to fill the space in which they reside with beauty, since her works are true collector's items.
Her project Pantone Barrier Reef is a series of six paintings made with sea urchin shells painted with the shades of the Mahahual Barrier Reef.
We are also fascinated by her recycled bonsai with mini porcelain hedgehogs, an original piece where the bonsai flowers are micro sea urchins found in Tulum and the support is a coral base.
One of the paintings from the 'Pantone Barrier Reef' series
Among the sculptures she has made we find the Origen Sculpture, which won the first Window Dressing Prize Valencia Centro Histórico 2017 and it is a lamp made with hundreds of sea urchin shells from the Caribbean.
Such was the success of this work that Ana made a second version, Origin II sculpture, with 928 sea urchin shells and 100 centimeters in diameter.
Sculpture Origin II
"My favorite work is Migration of the Crabs , a 10-meter sculpture of sea urchins that I made for the Llisa Negra restaurant, by chef Quique Dacosta", Ana confesses.
This sculpture is made up of 1,917 natural sea urchins hand painted in white and gold.
Ana Docavo's favorite sculpture is in the Llisa Negra restaurant, by chef Quique Dacosta
MASKS THAT ARE TRUE SCULPTURES
The masks are another of the star pieces of the work of Ana Docavo and To make them she is inspired by her favorite places and characters.
For example, the Samaná mask, a sculpture made with corals, shells and leaves collected on her last trip to the Samaná peninsula, in the Dominican Republic.
“All of them I have found lifeless on the shores of the beaches and they have been treated with special products for cleaning and protection with UV filters”, explains the artist.
On a trip to the Mexican coral reef, Ana read Frida Kahlo's biography and during her scuba dives, her mind transformed the seabed corals into flowers and Frida's headdresses. From there, a sculpture was born as a tribute to this great artist, the Frida mask.
Samana Mask
The Fisherman Crab mask also has a particular history. On the island of Gozo (Malta), Odysseus was seduced by the call of the nymph Calypso during his journey back to Ithaca.
“Gozo smells of the sea, figs and olive trees. The island's fishermen and their artisan pots have inspired me in the sculpture El Cangrejo Pescador", explains Ana Docavo, who She bought the small pot, which she uses for crab fishing, in a quaint shop in Victoria [Malta], where an 80-year-old fisherman makes them manually.
Fisherman Crab Mask
FROM SMALL BONSAI TO LARGE SCULPTURES, PASSING THROUGH HEADDRESSES, BASKETS AND PANTONES
In addition to her wonderful sculptures, hedgehog trees, paintings and masks, Ana also makes pieces that we can wear and feel like a mermaid.
His series of Marine Headdresses it's just amazing. Ana has made these headdresses using large crustaceans, sea urchins and sea shells with the aim of raising public awareness about climate change and its effects on our seas and oceans.
Another object of desire that has made us fall in love? Her hedgehog bag (a limited edition of 50 copies), a handmade basket of vegetable fibers made with 150 natural sea urchin shells hand painted with gold paint.
One of Ana Docavo's precious marine headdresses
FORMENTERA: PARADISE UNDER THE SEA
Centerpieces and tableware made by hand with marine shapes complete the work of this incredible artist. But if there is a painting that has definitely made us fall at her feet, that is Formentera Pantone.
Formentera is Ana's little private paradise: "My refuge, my paradise, my addiction, my workshop... With this painting I wanted to convey the peace and energy that you feel when you arrive in Formentera."
It is a pantone made with the colors of the island of Formentera: “turquoise, greenish and ultramarine blues of its crystalline waters; green of the ancient fig trees; and roses from the sand made up of bits of coral”.
The frame is made with sea urchin shells collected while diving in Es Caló des Mort and painted with the range of colors of its sea and vegetation.
Formentera Pantone
Your favorite places in Formentera? “The Bartolo beach bar, the beaches of Rocabella and Sa Roqueta or the Roman path of Sa Pujada to see the whole island from the top” Anna confesses.
“In the year 1200 there was a monastery in La Mola and the monks used the Roman road to go down to the Es Caló fishing port”, she relates.
Plus she loves watch the sunset in Cala Saona, sleep anchoring there and when you wake up, snorkel among the posidonia.
“Ride by bike through the Illetes salt flats at sunset” It is another of the things that she likes to do on the island.
“In 2021 all my work will revolve around the protection of Posidonia. For this reason, we have just created the NGO Protect with love in Formentera to develop very interesting projects.
Ana Docavo with Eugenia Silva
CORAL BAG: YOUR NEW CHARITY PROJECT
After diving in the coral reef of Mexico in recent years and seeing how coral bleaching and death progresses by leaps and bounds, Ana decided to create baskets decorated with porcelain corals, handmade and sewn by hand, to help regenerate the coral reefs.
This is how the solidarity project in which Ana is now embarked arose: Coral Bag, through which she collaborates with the NGO Coral Gardeners of Moorea, in French Polynesia, adopting corals with the profits from the sales of the baskets, and helping them in their mission to save the reefs.
Eugenia Silva, Ariadne Artiles, Raquel Oliva and many more have already joined this solidarity cause to save the oceans.
Jewel bag from the Coral Bag collection by Docavo
WHERE TO SEE ANA DOCAVO'S WORK?
Most of Ana Docavo's work has been acquired privately, although she has also done work for the world of restoration and she has a beautiful project for hotels in Polynesia and Maldives.
In Spain, we can see some of her works at the Quique Dacosta restaurant in Alicante (where we find your marine porcelain centerpieces) and the Gran Azul restaurant in Valencia (exhibiting his fish-shaped iron sculptures and mini bonsai sculptures of porcelain hedgehogs).
Finally, if we stop by the restaurant Lisa Black we can admire her work with recycled spider crabs in white and gold and a lamp-sculpture with 1,917 sea urchins.
Also, Ana has a workshop in the Carmen neighborhood, in Valencia, where she develops all her projects and receives by appointment.
“I also usually spend time in Tulum and Formentera, They are my two refuges by the sea where I get inspired and create”, adds the artist.
The works that Docavo makes are made to order and are limited editions or unique works. On her website we can buy the solidarity baskets that she designs every year.
We will be very attentive to the next adventures of this guardian and defender of the oceans!