OXIDE
It is a beautiful yet simple reflection that a tree grows in two directions. The crown is beautiful, and the roots invisible. What we see, often comes from what is deep, dark, and hidden.
The metaphor of oxidation as starting point might seem absurd. We usually associate it with aging, wear and tear, the passage of time. But oxidation should lead us to reflect on what is needed for something to oxidize, and the answer is obvious: oxygen. However, there was a long period in which our atmosphere was toxic and inhospitable to life, until the first living beings began to transform that primitive Precambrian atmosphere, filling it with oxygen through photosynthesis. Therefore, for something to oxidize, it was necessary that something to be born, to exist, in the deepest sense that the word existence can have. A rock, or even the universe as we know it, will cease to exist one day, but being aware of this finitude transforms us into restless reflective beings, full of unanswerable questions, filled with a thirst for knowledge.
Óxido is a second interpretation of my most fundamental reflection, which is present throughout my work: existence. It is an extension of my previous project, “Tempo,” begun in 2006 and still unfinished. While “Tempo” is photography and deals with irreversibility, through the idea of photographing with cameras built for a specific situation and which have only a single plate of film, where there is no second chance; “Óxido” is painting, changeable throughout the entire process, from the first to the last line, brushstroke, or shape. It is the desire to believe that yes, we can and must intervene, create destiny, and make our brief existence the moment and place to be and to give our best.
Everything has a beginning, everything has an end. To create is to minimize the anguish of knowing this. Perhaps it is a way of not suffering because of it, through reflection, in processes that are like dark and underground roots, invisible to others, but that nourish and shape what we make visible through our thoughts.
El Bardo - Iron oxide and hydroxide, acrylic and Double Bass Strings on canvas on wood. 300 x 180 cm
Paradise, heaven, hell, purgatory, bardo, these are concepts present in various cultures. The search for meaning, for destiny, a place or idea of being eternal.
El Bardo is my reflection on the idea that this place is right here, in our simple and limited existence; where our dreams, our ideals, our dramas and conflicts, our questions and our lack of answers, our frustrations and achievements, our effort to be the best we can be, all reside.
El Bardo is perhaps the best I've painted to date, possibly the closest result to what I'm aiming for, perhaps one of my works that best represents this moment in my life, so full of true love for what I do and for people who inhabit my life. Over it floats the feeling that much remains to be done; the eternal "And what's yet to come!" while we're here.
Empathy - Iron oxide and hydroxide and iron shavings on canvas on wood with magnets. 88 x 100 cm
Óxido Nº. 1 - Iron oxide and hydroxide, acrylic and oxidized iron on canvas on wood. 70 x 70 cm
Óxido Nº. 2 - Iron oxide and hydroxide and oxidized wire on canvas on wood. 110 x 70 cm
Óxido Nº. 3 - Iron oxide and hydroxide, bass string and oxidized iron on canvas on wood. 110 x 70 cm
Popocatépetl - Volcanic ash and iron oxide on canvas on wood. 120 x 35 cm
Espectróxido - Iron plates, iron oxide and hydroxide, and piano strings on canvas on wood. 150 x 97 cm
Espectróxido invertido - Iron oxide and hydroxide and piano strings on canvas on wood. 150 x 97 cm
The Tightrope - Iron oxide, broken abrasive disc on canvas and piano string on iron grid. 64 x 43 cm
The Box - Iron oxide and hydroxide and piano strings in an iron box. Sound/sensory installation 230 x 150 x 180 cm
Museo Internacional del Barroco, Puebla - México. October / November 2024
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