HUMANS AND NATURE: ARE THEY PART OF THE SAME LANDSCAPE?

The show functions as a portal that tries to explore the link between humans and nature and why these two seem to confront each other, as if they were opposites. The exhibition displays group of works that raise many questions about the relationship we have with the planet we inhabit.

Each artist raised possible scenarios as to the reason for this division. But only more questions were raised: What is it that divides us? Will we manage to be one with nature? What responsibility do we humans have in the urgency of repairing damaged or altered ecosystems? When should we take action?

At first glance, white predominates throughout the space, but it is broken up by a contrasting green wall. A color that represents nature and that imposes itself as a reminder of an imminent reality: What are we doing with our environment? In the middle of the wall, a black and white photograph by Santiago Porter shows what is left of a decapitated tree, as a warning and omen.

Marcelo Brodsky's triad of photographs is an attempt of unity, nature and humans managing to merge and becoming something new. But at the same time, there is a resistance on both sides: the cactus with its thorns, the rough textured wood, hands joining hands, but outside the trunk.

In turn, Sara Facio emulates nature with her hands as the protagonists in a series of photographs characterized by the intimate rather than by the portrait of great characters. She asks if nature and humans will be able to unite, if there are more similarities than differences between them, if we, as humans, we can be part of the landscapes of our planet. In a similar quest, Adriana Lestido also shows natural environments with human presence. The nose of Untitled from the Villa Gessel series is almost camouflaged in the photograph, surrounded by trees and bushes.

This is not the case of Silvia Rivas in her video installation Zumbido, where one could hear and see a sequence of buzzing insects and a pair of hands annoyed by their presence. The sounds generate discomfort and invite us to rethink the relationship of intolerance between humans and the rest of the species, with a record that shows the extermination of coexisting beings that did not adapt to human conditions. Can we be one with nature, or will our overwhelming impact extinguish everything?

Vivian Galban's series refers to a disappearance or fading of our species. Together, the photographs generate a sequence in which the human face is banned by the light, the image fails to compose itself as a sign of our future as humans. There is a point of contact with the work of Veronica Meloni who, in her series Objetos casi objetos, the sculptures seem cadaverous, as if they were the remains of animals.

Are we doomed to extinction, and does reversing our destiny include nature as a solution? RES in his polyptych composed of four photographs unveils an alternative, where humans become plants, humans yielding to the power of nature, adapting to it and its needs.

Does this imply redemption, is this the moment to unite with nature, do we consider our species defeated? In their own way, each artist has found a way to inhabit this problematic and to propose paths that imply a harmonious coexistence.

Esto que estalla no es el sol. Group exhibition.

Curated by Francisco Medail.

Participating artists: Adriana Lestido (b.1955), Ananké Asseff (b.1979), Andrés Denegri (b.1975), Celeste Rojas Mugica (b.1987), Gabriela Golder (b.1971), Graciela Sacco (1956-2017), Humberto Rivas (1937-2009), Liliana Maresca (1951-1994), Marcos López (b.1958 ), Marcelo Brodsky (b.1954), RES (b.1957), Roberto Huarcaya (b.1959), Santiago Porter (b.1971), Sara Facio (b.1932), Silvia Rivas (b.1957), Verónica Meloni (b.1974) and Vivian Galban (b.1969).

Rolf Art Gallery. Esmeralda 1353, Buenos Aires, Argentina.