Text-image, Image-text Installations
2014 - on going. A series of Installations departing from TEXT-IMAGES-TEXT,
An Attempt to Produce Dialectical Articulations Between Space, Image, Text and Spectator.
Barthes tell us that: "According to an ancient etymology, the word image should be linked to the root imitari. Thus we find ourselves immediately at the heart of the most important problem facing the semiology of images: can analogical representation (the "copy") produce true systems of signs and not merely simple agglutinations of symbols? [...] Nor are linguists the only ones to be suspicious as to the linguistic nature of the image; general opinion too has a vague conception of the image as an area of resistance to meaning-this in the name of a certain mythical idea of Life: the image is representation, which is to say ultimately resurrection, and, as we know, the intelligible is reputed antipathetic to lived experience."
Could we wonder ourselves, when entering a space of representations (or an artistically intervened space), if it is the person’s own body the object of study for its own mind through its perception, or if it is being the mind a subjectivity surveying a body producing text-images on itself. Merleau-Ponty's statement brings a possibility to enter not the questioning itself precisely, but a way to consider the mediation of such questioning further by stating, “Nothing determines me from outside, not because nothing acts upon me, but, on the contrary, because I am from the start outside myself and open to the world.”
A geometrical composition using text. Text as image, image as text. To our mind, a word becomes more than a word once it is evoked, it produces an image, a meaning. It is through speech that we share the world and learn its knowledges while we become thsoe knowledges, those consciences. According to Ranciere: “The human animal learns everything in the same way as it initially learnt its mother tongue, as it learnt to venture into the forest of things and signs surrounding it, so as to take its place among human beings: by observing and comparing one thing with another, a sign with a fact, a sign with another sign”. In the “Concept-Context"; iterations & variations on-going series, the geometricity in the word-game design becomes a consequence of content, an encounter with form; the word-game becomes an infinite loop of possibilities, it is a statement as much as it is an invitation to continue playing with it.
*Multimedia installations. Materials vary according to site, concept and situation specificity. In these series, materials and displays vary from permanent to precarious installations, and variations from photocopies to acrylic plates, and from projections to illuminations.
†These works have been included in several exhibitions and publications, including:
Grandes Éxitos (2018). Edificio de Correos, Guatemala City.
Juannio (2017). Art auction and publication. Museo de Arte Moderno, Guatemala City.
Espacios Públicos (2016). Edificio de Correos, Guatemala City.
El Museo de la Luna (2016). Concepción 41, Antigua, Guatemala.
Entresiglos; Arte Contemporáneo de Centroamérica (2015). Exhibition and publication. Museo de Arte Moderno, Guatemala City.
Propuestas Improbables (2015). Galería S1, Guatemala City.
Rudin Prize (2014). Norton Museum, Florida, US.
Finding A New Order (2013). BB15 Gallery, Linz, Austria.
Primitives (2013). W139 Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Textperimento(s)
2015, "Textperimento(s)", a collaborative project between artists Camila Fernandez and Renato Osoy. An innovative venture that reimagines the realm of text as a playground for creativity and experimentation. In "Textperimento(s)", text transcends its conventional literary boundaries, evolving into a multifaceted entity that embodies ideas, sensations, voice, play, image, and thought. This project is a celebration of the transformative power of text, encouraging innovative attitudes in individuals and their environments.
Our approach to text was holistic, encompassing both writing and reading while venturing into uncharted territories where text becomes a representation of more abstract concepts. The project is structured around a series of experimental sessions or laboratories, designed as spaces for exploration and experimentation. These labs activated demonstration-action, observation, thought, and the practice of 'making by doing' as means to amplify creativity, knowledge, and techniques in using text as a communication system.
Camila Fernández, with her background in Language and Social Sciences from UFM and as a member of the School of Psychoanalysis of Guatemala, brought her unique perspective of poetic creation through text as a phenomenological event. Renato Osoy, a visual artist, teacher, and researcher with degrees from the Royal Academy of Antwerp and the University of Amsterdam, delved into the epistemic possibilities of text through conceptual playfulness. "Textperimento(s)" was a confluence of their ideas, forms, and sensibilities, offering a new lens through which to conceptualize and materialize text into image, and image into text. https://www.textperimentos.com/laboratorio
Word & Image & What is In-between
2011. A collaboration with artists: Miriam Lombaert and Mieke Wessecker. In our current exhibition, we delve into the profound realms of human imagination, inspired by the philosophies of Merleau Ponty and Bachelard, two monumental figures in French phenomenology. Our journey, unfolding over six enriching contact moments, has consistently gravitated around a central theme, yet the paths we've explored have been as varied and intricate as the human mind itself.
Drawing primarily from Gaston Bachelard's seminal work, 'The Poetics of Space', particularly his chapter on 'Shells', we immerse our audience in an experience that transcends mere intellectual engagement. Bachelard’s exploration of the imagination as a force that operates in the delicate interplay between mind and matter, logos and opsis, subject and object, word and image, sets the foundation for our exhibition. The chapter on shells is not just a treatise on spatial poetics; it is an invitation to an empathetic reading, urging an immediate, visceral perception and direct experience. It demands an active participation of the imagination, acting as a bridge between the world of words and the realm of images.
Our exploration is centered around the concept of 'slow continuous formation', a phrase that encapsulates the essence of our artistic inquiry. This theme is a guiding light in our quest to understand how imagination shapes our perception of the material world. The exhibition is an experiential journey, inviting the viewer to engage actively, allowing their imagination to sketch its own portrait in confrontation with the physical world.
Bachelard’s work on shells brings to light the fascinating interplay of enlargements, the dialectics of large and small, the hidden and the manifest, concealment and revelation. He draws on examples from scientists, artists, and philosophers to illustrate the poetic details that, under the influence of imagination, can suddenly fill an entire space. This idea mirrors our fundamental fascination, primal experience, and original imagination that 'the shell' elicits in us.
In curating this exhibition, our aim is to create an experience trail for the viewer. The layout is designed to gradually work on the visitor's imagination, promoting a mode of reading that allows for the slow formation of images in the consciousness. We consciously avoid overtly clear imagery, as it can stifle the imaginative process. Instead, we foster a space where imagination and perception coalesce, inviting each visitor to embark on a unique and personal journey through the landscapes of their mind.
† This work was part of a collective exhibition: Word & Beeld & Wat er Tussen Zit, Curated by Dr. Johan Pas at KASKA, The Royal Academy of Antwerp, Belgium. 2011-2012.