A Vanishing Act

 

   I am passionate about maps and intrigued how borders and limits exist in a way that they are related to power, ego and not so deeply to cultural and geographical characteristics.

   My main interest resides in stripping maps of references, in this case the United Kingdom, where I live. I reduce territories down to their main features, sometimes real and other times by chance, depending of the qualities of the material I choose. In this case, institutional tiles.

   I have been working for many years with building materials. They symbolise the struggle of the working class and immigration. In addition, they represent the possibility to build a new world, a new space, a new idea.

   In maps, geographical and physical attributes have a codify colour, such as the blue for the sea and green for the forest.  I reversed this by using a light blue colour tile (originally inspired by the colours of the flag from the country I am originally from, Argentina). I leave elements to chance for I don’t control how the tiles break, I find this moment enriching: when I am trying to get something from the material but there is a limit to it before it disintegrates ,therefore stop existing.

   I believe we are living in a very eruptive moment of history. Technology and scientific advances have developed at a speed, with people struggling to adapt. I interpret the recent Brexit vote as a stark revelation of the deep divisions underlying this polite and eclectic society.

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