LOOKING TO THE SOUTH is a handmade piece imitating my cellphone's size and shape. This piece is made in perforated inox plate, textured by hole patterns which were covered. Pointing this piece against the light, it reveals some open holes shaping the exact proportions of the constellation “Cruz del Sur” (Crux) and its adjacent part of the sky. This constellation is only visible from the southern hemisphere of the planet, and sailors used it as a navigator’s compass indicating the south pole.

This work was made in the desert of Atacama (Chile) during H residency, to be sent then to Berlin (Germany), reflecting in this way a symbol of communication of the place from where I am.

This work must obey a condition to keep its function: To remain in the Northern hemisphere of the planet.


Looking to the South

Juan Varela and Gonzalo Reyes Araos 

Exhibition at Meinblau Projecktraum,  July 2017

As an extension of Social Geometrism (presented during the Gallery Weekend 2017 at Reinbeckhallen), we introduce Thresholds, an exhibition hosting the work of Juan Varela and Gonzalo Reyes Araos.

Thresholds displays a set of geometrical forms based on social phenomena. These artists investigate topics related to the body, - presence, distance, physical experience -, and its encounter facing concrete or virtual spaces. 

Gonzalo uses elements borrowed from the everyday means of communication, - screens, videoconference devices -, in order to share natural events on digital media. His observations amplify the relationships we maintain with spiritual experiences through the technology. 

Via simple instructions accompanying his installations and site-specific modifications in the public space, Juan's work invites the audience to experience paths in an attempt to uprise sculptural forms through the act of walking. Therefore, he re-objectifies the artwork suggesting that it is built in the act of using it.

In the main room, we find both artists in a singular dialogue. This space has been immersed in a red, blue and green colored environment falling from the ceiling. This artificial environment varnishes an x-like shape structure which invites the audience to interact with other people. Both works, make a reference to an intangible reality experimented in the daily human life. This act of placing them together disguises a dual meaning, an arrangement in which virtual and physical references meet in a single space.


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Gonzalo Reyes Araos