STATEMENT

On this occasion, the Monterrey artist Oswaldo Ruiz presents us with this exhibition where two of his most recent projects converge. ́The Objects and the
Substances ́ consists of a body of work in which, bilaterally and in unison, Oswaldo explores different forms of damage and symbolization, creating a kind of metaphysical scenario through his already recognized photographic mastery, and expanding his artistic limits towards the immersive and contemplative installation.

The first of the projects presented in this exhibition, called Materia Mnemica, was carried out in 2018 at the inSite / Casa Gallina space in Mexico City, under the curatorship of Josefa Ortega. It was a project carried out in collaboration with residents of the Santa María la Ribera neighborhood where, based on the symbolic appropriation of the production of homeopathic medicines, the participants and the artist extracted substances from the objects that caused them some type of harm to find . in them a principle of healing. The recognition of the source of pain and its sublimation into a healing substance were the operating mechanisms of this piece motivated by the idea of self-care as an act of freedom and socialization of the self and memory.

The second work, titled Everything Solid and carried out since 2019 with support from the National System of Art Creators of the System of Support for Creation and Cultural Projects (SACPC), of the Ministry of Culture, is a visual investigation that continues still in process and in which Oswaldo Ruiz has collaborated with the curator Ariadna Ramonetti. What is presented as part of this exhibition is only a small part of a broader visual reflection in which Ruiz questions the idea of work, the transformation/symbolization of the environment, and the impacts on the natural and social environment that the production of cement . he imposes on the city of Monterrey.
 

The Objects and Substances suggest a dialogue of Oswaldo Ruiz's recent work, articulating concepts, as is customary, through photography, and expanding his field of action, implementing spatial installations that function as a museographic foundation for his speech. In the exhibition, the dilemmas of modernity and mutual care resonate in each image, telling us through these landscapes, objects and the substances that compose them, stories of community that are intertwined with our social and organic nature.