Simon Faithfull’s “Fata Morgana”
Curated by Ombretta Agró Andruff, Executive Director, ARTSail Residency and Research Initiative, Fata Morgana embarks on an aquatic journey from the wetlands of Big Cypress to the Nordic Sea and the Adriatic through a series of photographs and films.
The Fundación Pablo Atchugarry presents British artist Simon Faithfull’s first solo exhibition in the US.
EXHIBITION DATE: September 10 - November 7, 2021
OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, September 10, 6-9pm
PLACE: Fundación Pablo Atchugarry 5520 NE 4th Avenue, Miami, FL 33137
The Fundación Pablo Atchugarry in Miami is excited to announce a collaboration with ARTSail, a Miami-based multi-faceted platform that connect artists with climate activists, scientists and marine experts to investigate how climate change and man-made pollution are impacting the South Florida waterways and assist them in the creation of tangible outcomes with climate advocacy value.
Featuring a combination of work created by the artist in response to his ARTSail residency, in 2017 and 2018, along with a few earlier works, through a series of photographs and films, the exhibition takes the audience on an aquatic journey spanning from the wetlands of Big Cypress, to the choppy waters of the Gulf of Mexico, all the way to the Nordic Sea and the Adriatic.
The film Re-enactment for a Future Scenario #2: Cape Romano, constitutes the most significant outcome of Faithfull’s residency, and combines footage shot during two separate visits to the remnants of a luxury villa built by a retired oil producer in the late 1970s, and abandoned after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, along with found images of the interior and exterior of the house while it was still standing on dry land.
A figure is seen standing on the half-submerged ruins, his back to us, staring out at the horizon…he seems to be caught in a dream, or better, a nightmare of a post-apocalyptic future, or maybe, as the artist states: “a memory from a future that never quite happened”.
In another video, Self Portrait: Big Cypress, the same figure is now immersed chest-deep in the heart of the Everglades wetlands, the absurdity of the image brings to the fore open-ended questions: the bucolic and yet eerie settings make us wonder whether he is practicing some form of meditation, or has been caught by a sudden flash-flood episode.
Throughout Faithfull’s oeuvre, nature and the landscape within which the artist chooses to perform his actions play a critical role that goes beyond that of a simple stage or a source of inspiration: a tree, a body of water, or an abandoned man-made structure become the de-facto collaborators with whom Faithfull shares the title of co-creator.
Humor and the absurd are recurrent strategies in Faithfull’s practice, and they often mitigate the sense of dooms-day scenarios that descriptions of his work might bring to mind. Whether he is clinging to a pole in the middle of the sea, as in Self Portrait: Florida Bay; or hanging from a tree in the desert landscape of Earthscape no. 1: Wadi Rum; or nonchalantly taking a walk on the seabed at the bottom of the Adriatic Sea in Going Nowhere 2, Faithfull exposes the frailty of the human condition and mankind’s hubris, without falling into the trap of existential anguish.
As the artist stated at the end of our second Dome House expedition: “We find ourselves in a very strange moment and I think oddly enough that’s also full of absurdity and humor…”: his vision, much better than any words, can truly express the precariousness of our fate and that of our planet.
Fundación Pablo Atchugarry is a non-profit institution, founded in Manantiales, Uruguay in 2007 by the sculptor Pablo Atchugarry. In December 2018, the Fundación Pablo Atchugarry opened its second location, in a space adjacent to the Piero Atchugarry Gallery, in the neighborhood of Little Haiti, in Miami, FL, located near Miami’s Design District. The exhibition program combines both contemporary and modern art, to bring a refreshing look at art history and to foster an understanding of how art movements can influence each other through time and space.
A nomadic, multi-faceted platform, ARTSail facilitates interdisciplinary practice to cultural producers in the creation of innovative content addressing the climate crisis specific to South Florida. We connect artists with climate activists, scientists and marine experts to investigate how climate change and man-made pollution are impacting the South Florida waterways and assist them in the creation of tangible outcomes with climate advocacy value. ARTSail’s programs span from artist residencies to educational and outreach programs that help communities move from climate awareness to climate action. It is the only program in South Florida premised on access to ocean-going vessels and scientific practitioners for creative and climate change inquiry. This interdisciplinary engagement facilitates advocacy for public policy by leveraging the masterful capacity of artists to communicate.
Based in Berlin, Simon Faithfull’s work has been exhibited extensively around the world. Recent exhibitions include solo the shows Fathom at the Exchange, Penzance, UK; Elsewhen at Hestercombe Gallery, Somerset, An Arbitrary Taxonomy of Birds at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Memories From The Future at Galerie Polaris (Paris); Sprinhornhof Kunstverein (Germany), Musee des Beaux Arts (Calais), Fabrica (Brighton,) FRAC Basse Normandie (France) and the British Film Institute (London). Recent group shows include exhibitions at Parafin (London), Maison Rouge (Paris), ACC Gwangju (Korea), Turner Contemporary (UK), CCCB (Barcelona), Palais de Tokyo (Paris) and Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (Australia). Faithfull’s practice has been described as an attempt to understand and explore the planet as a sculptural object – to test its limits and report back from its extremities. Within his work he often builds teams of scientists, technicians and transmission experts to help him bring back a personal vision from the ends of the world. He works with a variety of media – ranging from video, to digital drawing, installation work and writing. Faithfull was born in Braziers Park – a utopian community in Ipsden, Oxfordshire. He studied at Central St Martins, London and then the University of Reading. He is also Professor of Fine Art at The Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, London.
The public opening reception of Fata Morgana will take place Friday, September 10, from 6pm to 9pm at the Fundación Pablo Atchugarry in Miami. The reception is free and open to the public, with tickets available on Eventbrite.
For more information, high resolution images, and to arrange an interview with Simon Faithfull or Ombretta Agró Andruff, please contact bmcghee@pieroatchugarry.com or at (305) 639-8247.
Visit the Fundación Pablo Atchugarry Miami at www.fundacionpabloatchugarrymiami.com The Fundación Pablo Atchugarry Miami is located at 5520 NE 4th Avenue, Miami FL 33137