Macuto#Macuto

"'Macuto/#Macuto' is a study on the transformation of landscape representation, juxtaposing Armando Reverón's intimate studies of light in the Macuto landscape with the collective digital impressions of place curated through social media. This artwork is a physical manifestation of the interplay between traditional painting techniques and the modern digital curation of images, embodying the transient nature of online data through a palpable exploration of absence and presence.

The work comprises seven perforated plastic sheets, each 28” x 48”, placed to create a continuous visual sequence. The methodology involved collecting images tagged with #macuto, sorting them by their geographic coordinates, and running color analysis to form clusters that became the blueprint for the intricate patterns carved from each transparent plastic sheet.

Negative space is central to the work, crafting a presence from the absence. Light becomes a sculptural element through these calculated voids, casting shadows that morph and shift, inviting contemplation on the interstices between the captured image and the unseen context. Plastic, selected for its ability to diffuse and transmit light, is a resonance to the screens that mediate our visual encounters with the world.

As viewers move around the suspended sheets, they're invited to reflect on the layers of representation that inform our understanding of place in the digital era, drawing attention to the dichotomies of presence and absence, permanence and ephemerality, individual perspective, and collective memory. In essence, the piece is a physical manifestation of the digital landscape – a landscape that is at once universal and personal, expansive yet selective, constantly in flux yet paused in time within the frames of our devices.