Exótic intimate World
By Marina Oybín
Arte Online, 2015
“Memorious Mud”, the superb exhibition by Andrés Paredes ̶ a kind of cabinet of curiosities that compresses his deepest memories- will be seen at the Recoleta Cultural Center until March 1st.
A mud-made construction that hosts childhood memories is shown at Hall 11 of the Recoleta Cultural Center. Built with hundreds of kilos of Paraná ñau mud, such as those kneaded by Andrés Paredes when he was a child in the creeks and swamps of his native Misiones natal, this installation encapsulates an unimaginable universe.
The viewer needs to get inside the exuberant, dome-shaped mud structure, with a rose and cinnamon scent and music that includes distant voices and barking, to discover Paredes’s private world and treasured memories.
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There are no shadows in this kind of led-lit lunar landscape. Suddenly, a strange spark of wonder shakes our bodies: there are mud-made fossils, skeletons and bones; nearby, thousands of butterfly and cicada wings (some of which are torn, all of which are nailed to the ground) that the artist gathered in a butterfly farm, appear next to quartz, agate and amethyst stones. Everything looks strange, confusing. We seem to be before an exotic cabinet of curiosities, a refined and singular collection. Senses are enhanced –the viewer rocks at the sight of these modern life Vanitas.
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A great artist, Paredes has raised an exotic construction with mud domes where everything is real, pure nature and, at the same time, a reminder of those who will never come back.