Interview: Lara Lehmann. Published on 20. SEP 2024.
Experiments. Photos: Elias Lopez.
Hello Elias, thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions about your work today. I’m really excited to see what we’ll be discussing.
— Do you know Gelsenkirchen? Why did you say yes to GOLDSTÜCKE 2024?
No, I don’t know Gelsenkirchen but I thought that the GOLDSTÜCKE 2024 was a great opportunity to develop and exhibit my ongoing light project and to get visit a different city while I’m doing my master studies in Germany.
— What is your favorite object in your studio? What do you need to be able to work well?
I could not mention my favorite object as one, I must describe it as a whole. It’s a group of rocks that I have all the time lying in front of me. These rocks are a collection that I’ve picked or been gifted from different zones of the world. I believe that the only thing I need to work well is my special arrangement in a workplace, I mean having different small stations in the same environment where I can experiment with different media at the same time.
— What are particularly interesting aspects of the material/medium?
Using light as a medium is like trying to see both sides of a coin at the same time, you have this established way of working with it which can be using screens or projectors over a solid surface. But on the other hand, you have the light as a material using and experimenting with their physical properties. I think in my case I’m trying both at the same time. I’m using a projection but understanding the properties of the light and the glass to have the result that I wanted.
— What core idea inspired you to create your current work and what message do you want to convey with it?
The idea that started this work was a simple experimentation with the ways glass reacts to light and how should this glass be worked or shaped to have a visible image. After developing these 3 glass pieces and giving them the details needed I understood that it was more than just material work. I’m a firm believer that human psychology works with symbols and meanings, by reflecting during the process, I realized that this project was generating a resignification of a concept that I had in my beliefs.
To understand the message of this project it’s important to mention a Japanese proverb that came to me some years ago which says that every human being has three faces, the first one is the one we show to our expanded environment, the one that can be shaped by the moment. The second face is the one that we show to our intimate circle meaning family and friends. The third and last face is the one that we keep to ourselves, the most true self that we can be.
This concept of personality shifting based on the environment is challenged by a process of migration where this faces are somehow erased because the previous environments were also erased causing a rupture or a need for authenticity to survive with oneself and with the new environment.
— What topics are you interested in? What do you want to generate attention for?
My main interest is the middle point where psychology and spirituality lands. I pursue a narrative where my art could be not only a nice thing to look at but also something that can make one self-reflect on their own past experiences.