Artist: Ángela de la Cruz
Exhibition title: Mudo
Venue: CarrerasMugica, Bilbao, Spain
Date: September 27 – December 8, 2024
Photography: ©Ander Sagastiberri / all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and CarrerasMugica, Bilbao
Mudo (mute), suggests silence and the inability of expression whether voluntary or forced. The artworks in this show are on standby, holding their breath in anticipation. They evoke an atmosphere of a park cafe where the furniture has been tucked away for the winter season. They are waiting for the arrival of good weather and to be able to breathe, live and speak again. Whilst for now they are silent witnesses of this pause, they are like extras in a movie scene – necessary for the visuals of the story but devoid of any power to direct it. They exist in the background whilst the narrative is developing.
The muted colour palette allows the works to blend in and stay unnoticeable whilst occasional punctures of red remind of the life and blood boiling in them waiting to speak out. Additionally the benches that have been transformed into impossible chairs add to the uneasiness. The objects that were designed for waiting in comfort are reassembled making this comfort impossible to achieve.
The work in the show was inspired by Giacometti and his elongated figures, so narrow they barely exist, compressed and changed by massive events that marked the 20th century as well as Houdini and his disappearing acts, requiring great agility, strength and deception to ensure survival.
Mudo, suggests the survival, the waiting and anticipation as the artworks hold their breath in silence waiting to see what comes next.
Mudo by Ángela de la Cruz
Edited by Anna Zraykat
