On its 20th anniversary, Art Madrid dedicates its theme to exploring the relationship between human beings, architecture, the city, and the landscape. Under the title Cartographies of Perception, this section—curated by PROYECTOR—presents a selection of international video art works that examine these interactions from contemporary and critical perspectives. PROYECTOR, a leading platform for moving image art, invites us to immerse ourselves in an experience where time, space, and perception converge on screen.
This year’s collection offers a reflection on the connections between humans and their surroundings, the boundaries between the real and the imaginary, and the tensions between the natural and the constructed. As the critic John Berger once said, “Art is a way of seeing, a constant discovery.” The selected works are not only vessels of visual beauty but also invitations to discover new ways of observing, questioning, and claiming representations of the world.
In this conceptual journey, The Divine Way by Ilaria Di Carlo evokes a labyrinthine descent inspired by the Divine Comedy, where staircases transform into metaphors for psychological and architectural transitions. Meanwhile, Imitation of Life by Juan Carlos Bracho uses a monumental mirror to explore landscape as reflection and the image as a bottomless well, questioning our perception of our surroundings.
In the arid desert of El Mirage dry lake, Lukas Marxt inscribes a spiral with a vehicle in Circular Inscription, paying homage to Land Art while questioning the human footprint on the landscape. In her performance Atlas, Magda Gebhardt bears the symbolic weight of the world while constructing and deconstructing landscapes that challenge notions of time and space, revealing the artifice inherent in the image.
Yuchi Hsiao’s introspective journey in Somewhere I Belong to Be features toy cars moving across her face to symbolize a personal transition, while Wafer Bearer Deep Rain by lololol explores the relationship between technology and daily life in Taiwan, the global epicenter of semiconductor production. Finally, Breaking News: The Flooding of the Louvre by Tezi Gabunia offers a haunting vision of a flooded museum, anticipating the impact of climate change on cultural heritage.
Each work in this selection not only presents poetic and philosophical perspectives on life, but also invites collectors to take part in this conceptual journey. By acquiring these pieces, they become custodians of stories and visions that reflect—and challenge—our understanding of the contemporary world.
