En que Sentido?

The exhibition titled “En que Sentido?” (“What Do You Mean?”) showcases works created during a month-long residency at LaCuna, a cozy space near the Cadiz market, organized by Void Project (Axel Void and FACC). It’s a multisensory exhibition that explores and elaborates on the concept of “sense,” evident from the title written in Braille at the entrance.

The word is explored in its two distinct aspects: meaning, which informs the theme for the paintings and photographs. Here, subjects are intentionally suggested and rendered almost abstract. Despite being based on real forms and depicted realistically, they defy easy interpretation, prompting viewers to question their true meaning (“En que sentido?” indeed). The second aspect, related to physical sensation, acts as a sort of caption and explanation for the paintings. Each of the four sections is associated with a non-visual sensation that complements and adds meaning to the various works, thus blending touch, hearing, smell, and taste.

The first part of the installation combines the sense of touch with visual elements, focusing on drawing. Efforts were made to create “tactile drawings,” produced by engravings taken from the walls of the old city of Cadiz.

The second part is inspired by the area adjacent to the small exhibition room, the fish market. In this place, images and voices blend into a gramlot of word and image fragments. The visual sense offers fragments from paintings and photographic material, while through headphones, visitors can hear audio recordings of this indistinct murmur of voices.

In this section, the sense of sight is once again mixed with touch. The subjects are derived from objects recovered from the sea, which have become somewhat indistinguishable and almost abstract. In the same composition, they appear as abstract and indistinct as possible, encouraging the observer to question what they are. The answer to this question is found by inserting hands into a box covered with a black cloth, where the same objects can be touched. In this case, touch represents an explanation of the depicted subject.

The final part of the installation uses a mechanism similar to the previous section. Here, the abstract subject of the painting is “explained” and explored through taste. The observer can taste a fruit juice that offers an interpretation of the subject.

In conclusion, and more broadly, the sense and its capacity to confer meaning are fundamentally linked to our way of creating and defining the reality around us.