OSWALDO MACIÁ ‘Equations [Olfactory-acoustic sculptures]’

San Antonio Abad Exhibition Room-CAAM is holding the exhibition Ecuaciones [Esculturas olfativo-acústicas] / Equations [Olfactory-acoustic sculptures], a project by Colombian artist Oswaldo Maciá (Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, 1960), who has lived and worked in London since 1990.

Primarily a sculptor, as he likes to define himself, Oswaldo Maciá investigates the spaces of perception of sculpture, exploring new languages that question our centuries-old forms of perception, especially in the context of western culture.

Yet Maciá is more than a sculptor: he is also a poet and thinker, a musician and composer, who places us in front of new horizons of perception that subvert our space of security and sensory comfort, submerging us in exciting territories unknown to our senses.

The concept of equation chosen by the artist to present this project introduces us to a reality involving elements we should constantly be aware of.

His project begins on the Ground Floor, with the work La fábula del viento / Fables of the wind, an acousmatic*-circular composition that situates us in the allegorical space of the sea and the wind, the endless cycle of departure and return, migrations, trade, the journey of ideas…

On the First Floor, the olfactory-acoustic sculpture Under the Horizon / Bajo el Horizonte awaits us. The immeasurable line of the horizon, Maciá tells us, has been used to navigate from one place to another, acting as a line where our vision is calibrated, and in this work the horizon becomes a horizontal exploration for spectators through sound and smell.

The journey concludes with Volucrary / Volucrarios, Maciá’s tribute to the Volucraries, Medieval treatises on the symbolism of birds. The most widely known Volucrary in the Renaissance was by a German doctor and naturalist, known by the French translation of his name as Jean de Cuba (1430-1503). In his book Jardín de Santé, de Cuba described more than 122 birds, including extracts from the most relevant classical studies. As we observe Volucrary today, we become aware of both extinct and endangered species.

We are extremely grateful to the artist for this gift to the senses. We invite you to become entranced as you discover new ways of understanding the artistic experience.

Orlando Britto Jinorio
Director of the CAAM

*The term acousmatic is attributed to Pythagoras, who is said to have taught his students from behind a veil or screen so his presence did not distract them from his teachings. 

IMAGE GALLERIES

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