SIMULACRUM: Show Window Exhibition #8
17th of May 2021 – 11th of June 2021
Monday through Friday, 10AM – 5PM
WerkStadt Gallery
Emser Str. 124, 12051, Berlin
Simulacrum in pandemic
Before the lockdown, WerkStadt gallery made an open call under the topic “Simulacrum,” which in the arts is associated with the idea of representation as, e.g., something created, crafted, and/or unreal. After the pandemic, the artists should adapt their proposals to the window space so that the exhibitions could be seen from the outside. Simulacrum now needed to happen in the display windows of the gallery.
In my head, the association between the concept of simulacrum and the windows as the place for an exhibition resonated with special intensity during the lockdown. My private windows were the space to counteract the surreal effects of the pandemic. Under the common experience of isolation, everyone’s house window became the physical space where to find a sense of reality.
Color construction
My general practice is based on color formation on a gridded surface. I approach the color as a composition resource using gradient-colored thread and paint. In this exhibition, you can see my early works. On the one hand, there are small pieces of textiles where I look to match the thread gradation with a painted burlap. On the other hand, there are larger pieces where the color gradation is determined by the stitch length, which regulates the presence of the background. My current practice is distinguished by using fiberglass mesh, a building material as if it were burlap. Furthermore, I create a three-dimensional canvas using several layers.
About the exhibition
For this exhibition, I have used the window space as the motif to create three artworks, two medium and one large size. The rigid fiberglass mesh and the representation of the window’s grid structure contrast with the wool’s haptic quality. The stitching pattern creates the illusion of something being hidden, and its color gradation mimics a diffuse landscape.
I create a subtle color overlapping by leaving unpainted areas and exposing the raw material. The colored semitransparent layers affect each other to create the effect of shadow and depth, and they produce an atmosphere that contrasts with the rigid background material. The works are created by constructing the color with density and transparency.
“Ventana sobre Ventana”
The exhibition’s title relates to the motif of the works and their place in the exhibition gallery. However, beyond this straightforward association, there are other levels where one can find further correlations.
The most evident relationship is that the fiberglass mesh and the window are construction elements. The mesh could also be associated with a window net or the primary cellular structure from which the window representation is just its logical enlargement. “Ventana sobre Ventana” can also be seen as the different layers that emulate the different aspects of the window, i.e., its structure and its multiple shadows.
But at the WerkStadt gallery, the exhibition “Ventana sobre Ventana” makes the context appear by reflecting it. The art pieces on the windows function as mirrors or echo devices. By occupying the place that they represent, they make the window space of the gallery appear. Furthermore, due to the reflection of the glass, they correlate with the multiple windows of the building in front. In this context, the windows simulacrum becomes part of its interior and exterior environment, as a system built by the reproduction of voids, modules, elements, and structures. The works are being produced and reflect what is already there.
Javiera González Zarzar
Architectural 