Submission
June 08, 2023

Retomando el centro

Group show curated by Jorge Esda and Javier Estupiñán, organized by Vega de Agua at CCA Gran Canaria (Gran Canaria, Canary Islands)
June 01 — July 05, 2023

From left to right: philosopher Larisa Pérez Flores, coordinator of Foro del Agua; curators Jorge Esda and Javier Estupiñán; artists in residence Ninf.A, Daniasa M. Curbelo and Carla Marzán. Photography by Rafael Arocha. Courtesy of Vega de Agua and CCA Gran Canaria.

Daniasa M. Curbelo, Ninf.A, and Carla Marzán present the exhibition “Retomando el centro” – Reclaiming the Center -, in which they show the results of the exploratory processes that took place during their art residency at Vega de Agua. During May 2023, the three artists have lived together in the municipality of Ingenio, in the island of Gran Canaria. This experience has led them to develop a collective practice focused on research and co creation.

Curated by Jorge Esda and Javier Estupiñán, founders of Vega de Agua, the project tries to focus on the Canary Islands not as a periphery, but as the center of their own realities, ideas, and bodies. “Retomando el centro” aims to challenge the classical conception of the archipelago and strives to contribute, through an artistic practice, to the transformation of the territory and the collective memory of the Canary Islands.

The showcased works are also strongly inspired by the set of activities carried out throughout the residency, as well as by the 5 sessions of “Retomando el centro: Foro del Agua”, a participatory forum organized by Vega de Agua in collaboration with philosopher Larisa Pérez Flores. Themes such as historical memory, logics of representation, and decolonialism have a strong presence in the exhibited works.

When entering the main hall, the visitor encounters “Acequia”, a collaborative work in which the three resident artists propose complex coexistences between organic and synthetic materials, between remote and future elements. The piece also establishes a link between body and architecture through a combination of industrial roof tiles with the so-called “musleras” roof tiles, that were made with the traditional method, by using the artists’ own thighs. In “Acequia,” the water becomes a central element through which to observe, think, and feel.

Individual and collective pieces are presented in a space in which all the results are part of a community experience. Ninf.A’s work focuses on fashion to suggest a temporal collapse that blurs the boundaries between the past and future of a territory. In a space where the distinction between the public and the private sphere dissolves, Daniasa M. Curbelo’s performative actions question the logics of visibility and representation that articulate the identity frameworks of the Canary Islands. Carla Marzán starts with a family photo to delve into a collective wound. Carlos M.J. @charlesitus collaborates in the exhibition by designing the figure of the “cyber-Garoé”, alluding to the sacred tree for the Bimbache population on the Canary island of El Hierro.


Meanwhile, sound artist Sam Am unleashes a sound wave that creates a dialogue with the pieces at specific moments while exploring the syncretic universe of the Canary Islands.

— Jorge Esda and Javier Estupiñán

Retomando el centro, Exhibition View, CCA Gran Canaria, 2023. Photography by Rafael Arocha. Courtesy of Vega de Agua and CCA Gran Canaria.
Retomando el centro, Exhibition View, CCA Gran Canaria, 2023. Photography by Rafael Arocha. Courtesy of Vega de Agua and CCA Gran Canaria.
Retomando el centro, Exhibition View, CCA Gran Canaria, 2023. Photography by Rafael Arocha. Courtesy of Vega de Agua and CCA Gran Canaria.
Daniasa M. Curbelo, Ninf.A y Carla Marzán. “Acequia”. Concrete, canary clay, aluminum, plastic. 2023. Photography by Rafael Arocha. Courtesy of Vega de Agua and CCA Gran Canaria.
Daniasa M. Curbelo, Ninf.A y Carla Marzán. “Acequia”. Concrete, canary clay, aluminum, plastic. 2023. Photography by Rafael Arocha. Courtesy of Vega de Agua and CCA Gran Canaria.
Frame of the video created by Carlos M.J. for the piece "Neo-fósiles sagrados”. 2023.
Ninf.A. “Se quedó a medias eso”. Burlap, Kanekalon, Wood, rubble, custom upcycled garments, rope and Styrofoam. 2023. Photography by Rafael Arocha. Courtesy of Vega de Agua and CCA Gran Canaria.
Ninf.A. “Ladymaguada”. Photograph printed in A2. 2023. Fotografía de Rafael Arocha. Photography by Rafael Arocha. Courtesy of Vega de Agua and CCA Gran Canaria.
Ninf.A. “Ladymaguada”. Photograph printed in A2. 2023. Fotografía de Rafael Arocha. Photography by Rafael Arocha. Courtesy of Vega de Agua and CCA Gran Canaria.
Retomando el centro, Exhibition View, CCA Gran Canaria, 2023. Photography by Rafael Arocha. Courtesy of Vega de Agua and CCA Gran Canaria.
Daniasa M. Curbelo. “Perversión de simbolismos rígidos”. Video. 2023.
Daniasa M. Curbelo y Ninf.A. “Estatuilla antropomorfa canaria II y III”. Canarian clay, variable dimensions. 2023. Photography by Rafael Arocha. Courtesy of Vega de Agua and CCA Gran Canaria.
Carla Marzán. “Engrasar lo heredado”. Installation, stereo sound, sheets intervened with serigraphy and butter. 2023. Photography by Rafael Arocha. Courtesy of Vega de Agua and CCA Gran Canaria.
Carla Marzán. “Engrasar lo heredado”. Installation, stereo sound, sheets intervened with serigraphy and butter. 2023. Photography by Rafael Arocha. Courtesy of Vega de Agua and CCA Gran Canaria.
Carla Marzán. “Engrasar lo heredado”. Installation, stereo sound, sheets intervened with serigraphy and butter. 2023. Photography by Rafael Arocha. Courtesy of Vega de Agua and CCA Gran Canaria.
Retomando el centro, Exhibition View, CCA Gran Canaria, 2023. Photography by Rafael Arocha. Courtesy of Vega de Agua and CCA Gran Canaria.

Retomando el centro

Vega de Agua at CCA Gran Canaria (Gran Canaria, Canary Islands)
June 01 — July 05, 2023

Artists: Daniasa M. Curbelo, Ninf.A, Carla Marzán. With the collaboration of Sam Am and Carlos M.J.

Curation: Jorge Esda and Javier Estupiñán

Text: Jorge Esda and Javier Estupiñán

Photography: Rafael Arocha

Vega de Agua present the exhibition “Retomando el centro” – Reclaiming the Center -, in which the art institution located in Gran Canaria, the Canary Islands, show the results of the exploratory processes that took place during their last art residency.

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