Out of Sight, Out of Mind

(2020)

Out of Sight, Out of Mind takes as its starting point places that remain difficult or virtually impossible to reach, whether through geographical isolation, political restriction, spiritual significance or the limits of human access. Known through coordinates, maps and images but rarely encountered directly, these locations occupy an ambiguous space between geographical fact and fiction, sustaining the fantasy of somewhere beyond the problems of the inhabited world.

The exhibition confronts this fantasy with the impossibility of complete escape. Point Nemo, the most remote location in the Pacific Ocean, for instance, contains traces of microplastic pollution despite its extreme isolation. Moving between references to distant sites and the physical conditions of the gallery itself, Out of Sight, Out of Mind considers remoteness as both a spatial condition and an escapist projection — and asks whether anywhere can remain truly outside the systems we might wish to leave behind.

Location

Balcony, Lisbon

Dates

2020

Materials

Acrylic resin, pigments, mixed textiles, found wood, rubber-coated steel U-bolts, acrylic paint, industrial floor paint, rope and marble aggregate.

The Closer You Look, the Better You Look developed from a single found image of a family on holiday at the beach. As the image was enlarged, its low resolution began to dissolve familiar forms: bodies, objects and gestures became ambiguous, and details appeared to shift into something else. These visual fragments became the basis for a series of drawings and sculptures that translated digital distortion back into physical form.

The work reflects an ongoing interest in looking as a speculative, almost forensic process. Zooming in becomes a way of searching for evidence, constructing narratives from incomplete information and testing how much meaning can be projected onto an image once certainty begins to break down.