Lugar, contingencias de uso

Proceso de Inicio, 2017 is a complex structure consisting of two ramps, one going up and another going down, respectively, made up by more than five hundred linear metres of scaffolding pipes in a sort of naked geometric abstraction. The work represents a redefinition of sculpture and of the architectural space where it is placed. She has chosen a simple and quick system of production in opposition to the formal complexity of the resulting structures reformulating the use of architectural materials, in this case scaffolding materials (pipes, knots and boards), as basic units for developing the piece. Through its conception, Lamothe seems to be alluding to the Meccano building sets, substituting the metal bars and the screws with pipes, knots and phenolic panels. The reference to the auxiliary structures of a building site and their provisional nature are inverted to work with definitive installations for use, revealing each of the details of the ensemble, denoting the raw material again and vindicating the aesthetic value of construction elements and the potential of materials.

The spectator becomes part of the work from the moment they walk through it, establishing a sensory type of complicity that Lamothe describes as a ‘primary communion’ and which produces the physical understanding necessary for that participation in that which is common, of a relationship between equals, of reciprocal subjection. From this point of view, the relationship stimulus-feeling is activated from the moment when coming into contact with the matter, when walking through the iron structure and stepping on the wood; the instability forces the search for the equilibrium and the reaction to the stimulus adopts the body’s stance and activates the senses. The feel of industrial materials, the sound of wood when it bends and the scaffolding tubes when they move stimulate the intimate experience of fear, vertigo, instability, or balance. At the same time the artist suggests a groundbreaking activity such as stepping on, grabbing, transiting through a work of art that at the same time provides a feeling of freedom and bewilderment.

Text excerpt by Susana González

Place, Contingencies of Use | 2017

Exhibition View: CGAC | Santiago de Compostela | Spain
Photograph: Paco Rocha
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