Karla Silva, originally from Mexicali, Baja California, presents the results of her one-month residency at Lagos. Her stay was made possible by the XXV Baja California Art Biennial, as one of three recipients of the Artistic Production Residency awards.

Silva’s exploration is tied to the plasticity of the materials she uses. Textures, colors, and volumes embody the organic nature of the human heart. The chicken wire, for example, contributes a sense of lightness and vulnerability, while the glass mosaics add a touch of luminosity and weight. The plaster bandages, intervened with gold paint, evoke ideas of protection and healing, while the onion skin paper brings a sense of transparency and fragility.

The flexibility of the sculptures reminds us of the impermanence of the heart’s form, which through contraction and relaxation breathes life into the body. The negative space that surrounds—and simultaneously traverses—the pieces becomes the vital halo that exceeds their materiality.

Daril Fortis
Director of Museums and Galleries, Secretariat of Culture of Baja California

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