Juan Silió Gallery presents the most recent work by Juan López. In Surco he furthers his research on the signs generated in the city, both by its construction and development, as well as by the activity happening in it.
Juan López continues his search for the hidden elements in the spaces we routinely inhabit. He shows unintervened traces of these places in Surco, as opposed to his previous works. He presents a copy as an extension of the original that delves into the materiality and the idea of construction, allowing its own transformation into new structures.
Even if there is no intention to interpret that vocabulary, a sound piece translates the superficial layer of the city into sounds. And these have yet to be deciphered, scratching elements that have been directly extracted from them.
“Surco” is a project that takes the city as an archaeological environment. The installation works are born from the capture of negatives of different surfaces of the urban context. Based on the city’s own language, a new system of signs is formed and available to be used. This practice is related to his previous work, in which the analysis of the architectural elements, and the study of their image as text and symbol is a constant.
The series “Groundshot” capture the signs found on the asphalt. The ground and the road signs are used as molds, generating a positive copy of parts of these graphic elements. Removed from their referent and on another plane, they compose a “new writing” that allows us to reinterpret our environment.
The appearance of skins suggests a sense of dismantling and change in the concept of the city. It alludes directly to the sense of “shedding skin”, a reflection of a time to propose new ways of being and rereading the everyday environment.
On the other hand, “Inkscore” and “Blackscore” refer to elements that, in the vertical plane of the city, are in the process of disappearing. At a time when the meaning of public space as a space for social service is being transformed, our gaze is directed towards half-erased calligraphies, remains of graffiti on billboards, walls, advertising supports, etc. These pieces can be seen as scores randomly generated in the city, waiting to be interpreted.
Surface prospecting is a work process that seeks to point out new contemporary sites and focuses on the surface layer of the ground to extract information about the most recent activity.
In this way, through fragments torn from the pavement, “Este Madrid” performs a reading of the invisible and the soundscape. Robots are assembled exclusively to check if the surface registers all the activity that happens on it. The pieces of asphalt become vinyl records that sound with the movement of a needle. Through the scratching or reading of the different grooves we hear their background noise, perhaps translating the sound of vehicles rolling and pedestrians walking.
Juan López creates in “Surco” an environment in which we sense a certain familiarity. Although our brain has yet to learn to distinguish the new phonemes, he gives us clues about possible structures and spaces, and the possibilities of recomposing the city.
SURCO
9 September– 13 November 2021
Juan López
Galería Juan Silió
C/ Doctor Fourquet, 20. 28012 Madrid
Opening Hours:
Tuesday – Friday
11AM – 7PM
Saturday
11AM – 2PM