2022 Mudanza

MUDANZA 2022/2023

Move:

To give or take another being or nature, another state, form or place.

Animals know when to molt. That is why it is common to find old snake scales in the forest, or the empty shell of a crab, floating along the rocks. But not all animals get it right when it comes to change. People are often obsessed with holding on to our old skin, because we feel it as our shelter, our disguise, our nest, without realizing that letting go is synonymous with peace.

Jose Pablo Arriaga’s “Mudanza” is a response to the sudden death of a good friend. The artist compares some people to the huge stone cubes that are usually placed on coastal piers with the intention of calming the waves and ensuring the protection of harbors. This black and white marble, very familiar to Arriaga, as his hometown has a large quarry, plays a very important role by the sea. It is the stones that withstand the scourge of the waves so that the people can sleep peacefully, just like those friends who remain in the front line of battle in humility and silence.

The stone is a closed element, without escape. Arriaga tries to offer a way out of these rigid materials, some kind of escape to freedom. In this collection he has represented the skin of these large marble cubes, thus claiming that both the stones, as well as all those who take the function of these stones, have the right to shed their skin, to be exhausted, to let go and to get stronger. It cannot be held forever. We have to look for ways to bring out the pain we carry inside.

In one of the series of the collection, these cubic skins take the shape of a suitcase, thus making a nod to the most common meaning of the word “mudanza”. The parallel stripes on the sculptures symbolize the grooves in the marble cubes, deep marks caused by the enormous drill holes in the quarries. The color white conveys purity, that strength that comes from being vulnerable in front of our friends.

“Cho Oyu” is the only piece presented in block form, almost entirely closed. The name refers to a mountain in the Himalayas to which the sculptor’s friend made an expedition. However, this block also consists of an opening, a break to defy rigidity.

All the works in the “Mudanza” collection are made of acrylic stone and, in some cases, white painted wood.

Drop your old skin. The new one is waiting for you.