| “I have a white tequila and begin to get dressed. The process of socialisation
is long, deep and always intensely intimate. I iron the shirt – thank God,
there’s still a clean one — I enjoy the narcissistic act and imagine seeing myself
look at an art proposal once again. My eyes are already exhausted, but my voyeurism,
secret and forgiven, nourishes corners of desire.”
(Ittom O’iram, Autore viviente, 1997, from the catalogue Dhara Rivera, Inflexiones)
El subterráneo y el jardín (The Underground and the Garden) is the fifth exhibition in the Un oasi en el desert blau (An Oasis in the Blue Desert) series, held at Espai 13, that presents the work of young artists from Central America, specifically the Caribbean.
Dhara Rivera, born in Puerto Rico, is the artist with the most extensive career in this year’s series. One of her recent exhibitions was at the Luigi Marrozzini Gallery in Puerto Rico.
In her works, Dhara Rivera frequently addresses the theme of the mirage, which aligns fully with the proposal Michy Marxuach presents in this current series.
The work El subterráneo y el jardín suggests a reflection on the concept of borders, both physical and mental, referring to the transition between private and public spaces. It creates two coexisting environments from elements that form part of an intimate reality, such as beds and clothing, along with video monitors embedded in pillows, which reveal the external, public reality, seen through the mundane yet intimate object of the pillow.
The ambiguity between the real and the imagined, conveyed through materials and domestic elements familiar to the observer, is the thread that runs through the installation. El subterráneo y el jardín is not just the dichotomy between the exterior and the interior, but also a metaphor for the real and the imagined – worlds that are only separated by subtle and fragile boundaries. |
