Exhibition "The World Landscapes Project" by Mateo Maté at the Ulsan Museum in South Korea
June 14, 2023
Mateo Maté's proposal for the Ulsan Museum in South Korea consists of three installations under the umbrella of what the artist himself calls "The World Landscapes Project", which is about travelling and exploring remote corners of the earth through an imaginary train journey, using newspapers as the main support. He started using newspapers in the 1990s, as if they were bricks, to build his shelters or his mountains, which were real sculptures made of paper. In this way, the artist takes visitors to a new landscape of mountains, valleys and rivers, allowing them to take a journey that is never the same. In addition, the cameras installed inside the electric train are like eyes that record the shapes of the changing landscape during the journey through the mountainous territory. This work changes its meaning every time it is made, because the train also runs through his life and his artistic practice, the curator assures us.
Years ago, the artist, comparing himself to a cartographer, said: "My work is about the geography of my surroundings, a journey through the objects I use every day and through all my daily actions. It is also an analysis of everything that is close to me, my friends, my work and my children (...). An evocative journey and a reflection on absences".
Exhibition on view from 8th June to 23rd September in Ulsan Art Museum, South Korea.
Organised by Ulsan Art Museum and Casa Asia, with the collaboration of Acción Cultural Española, Comunidad de Madrid and Instituto Cervantes.