Belén Rodríguez (Valladolid, 1981) works with plant-based and mineral dyes and textile techniques to create works in which the material works as a sensory archive of a territory. Rather than depicting nature, her works physically incorporate traces of it: pigments extracted from leaves, bark or roots that seep into the fabric during the dyeing process.

In I Danced Myself Out of the Womb (2023), the artist uses materials collected in a forest in Cantabria that she purchased in order to protect it from being felled. The forest is not depicted as an image: it is present in the curtain itself. Made from organic cotton and crafted using the Japanese shibori technique, the piece features organic patterns that evoke both leaves and feathers —two forms of shelter and protection. The foliage thus appears like a canopy sheltering the life beneath it. The title, taken from the song "Cosmic Dancer" by T. Rex introduces dance as an expression of celebration and shared vulnerability: a way of reflecting on existence through a sense of belonging and joy. The piece lies somewhere between the ecological and the maternal, and invites us to reflect on what it means to protect.