POTOSI, THE INVERSE UNCANNY VALLEY____ACHIOTE SEEDS & MAGNETIC LEVITATION DISK____1.50 MTS X 4 MTS____IN ‘SEMBRAR LA DUDA’ CURATED BY MARIA WILLS, JULIEN PETIT & SIGRID CASTAÑEDA IN THE MUSEUM OF THE BANK OF THE REPUBLIC, BOGOTA___2024
POTOSI, THE INVERSE UNCANNY VALLEY____ACHIOTE SEEDS & MAGNETIC LEVITATION DISK____1.50 MTS X 4 MTS____IN ‘SEMBRAR LA DUDA’ CURATED BY MARIA WILLS, JULIEN PETIT & SIGRID CASTAÑEDA IN THE MUSEUM OF THE BANK OF THE REPUBLIC, BOGOTA___2024
POTOSI, THE INVERSE UNCANNY VALLEY____ACHIOTE SEEDS & MAGNETIC LEVITATION DISK____1.50 MTS X 4 MTS____IN ‘SEMBRAR LA DUDA’ CURATED BY MARIA WILLS, JULIEN PETIT & SIGRID CASTAÑEDA IN THE MUSEUM OF THE BANK OF THE REPUBLIC, BOGOTA___2024
THE WORK CONSISTS OF A HEAP OF ACHIOTE SEEDS THAT SUPPORTS A LEVITATING MAGNETIC DISC. ACHIOTE IS A SACRED SUBSTANCE USED IN MANY INDIGENOUS AMAZONIAN CULTURES AS THE PIGMENT OF ANCIENT PAINTINGS. MAGNETIC RESISTANCE, BY CONTRAST, IS FUNDAMENTAL TO ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS AND THE HARDWARE BEHIND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. BY BRINGING ACHIOTE AND MAGNETIC LEVITATION TOGETHER, THE SCULPTURE TREATS THEM AS TWO DIFFERENT FORMS OF TECHNOLOGIES. IT PROPOSES THEM AS A FORM OF “EQUIVOCITY”: A CONVERSATION ACROSS DIFFERENCE, WHERE MISUNDERSTANDING IS NOT A FAILURE BUT THE STARTING POINT FOR DIALOGUE. THE SCULPTURE CHALLENGES THE IDEA THAT ARTIFICIALITY IS ONLY A HUMAN INVENTION CENTERED ON HUMAN NEEDS. INSTEAD, IT SHIFTS ATTENTION TOWARDS “THE WHO OF THINGS,” SUGGESTING THAT MINERALS, PLANTS, AND OTHER NON-HUMAN BEINGS ALSO HAVE FORMS OF INTELLIGENCE AND AGENCY. ULTIMATELY, THE WORK AIMS TO MOVE BEYOND A COLONIAL MINDSET THAT TURNS OTHER BEINGS AND WORLDS INTO OBJECTS.