Olmo Cuña
1 February 2024 – 31 July 2024
Olmo Cuña’s activity is based on everyday experiences in different places around him, showing special interest in observing and questioning how the most generalised forms of approaching the territory operate through the image. In his practice he relates the moving image to manual work processes, as a way of stretching and contracting time. He also often incorporates activations with which he seeks to propose other conditions of perception with respect to a given cultural, landscape or urban scenario.
Olmo Cuña holds a degree in Visual Arts from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Pontevedra, a master’s degree in Artistic Production from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and was part of the SOMA 2016 Educational Programme in Mexico City. Recent exhibitions include Vacacional, 2022 at LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial, Gijón, Lo fingido verdadero, 2021 at Casa Museo Lope de Vega, Madrid, Inestimable Azar, 2021, XIV Bienal FEMSA, Mexico and Todo sucede como si, 2019, Can Felipa, Barcelona.
Project in residence
Project in residence: Colosal nº 8
The Olmec head of the Ensanche de Vallecas roundabout is a sculpture that was donated to the city of Madrid by the Mexican state of Veracruz and is a replica of one of the colossal heads sculpted by the pre-Columbian Olmec culture.
Olmo Cuña proposes to relate this rotunda to the Italian ‘colossal’ cinema characterised by the recreation of great classical settings. Another dimension of the project is the work of exploration around the languages and techniques of cinema, such as the use of so-called ‘applied colour’.
Taking these ideas as a starting point, the Colosal nº8 project proposes the making of a short film that could be considered a kind of ‘colossal’ film that speculates on the historical relations between Mexico and Spain, on the transfer and decontextualisation of archaeological artefacts and specifically on the Olmec head roundabout.
Project selected in the 1st Call for Artistic Residencies 2024
