The Watermill Center’s Artist Residency Program

Jan 12

View of the finished site-specif. ⓒ Carlos Bunga.

View of the site-specific, completed. ⓒ Carlos Bunga.

The Watermill Center +info

For the first time, thanks to the invitation of The Watermill Center, Bunga decided to abandon the comfort of the exhibition space for the exterior in order to dialogue with nature. During this process the forest became an experimental laboratory that hosted a fragile construction. As with his previous projects, there were no preparatory sketches. The decision-making is done in situ during the process of creation.

With this site-specific also led to a videoart piece showcasing the construction process, which can be seen down below.

AUTUMN RED: RAIN, WIND AND MOVEMENT

Autumn Red: Rain, Wind and Movement (2017) represents an evolution in the work of Carlos Bunga, which is characterized by large site-specific, ephemeral installations made with cardboard, tape and paint.

The installation reflects the geographic and temporal condition of its location. The working hours for the installation were marked by the sunrise and sunset. The characteristics of the earth, vegetation, fauna, as well as the intermittent wind and rain, all contributed to the configuration of this piece. The result is a large diaphanous pavilion with generous openings that allow for the circulation of the wind and the movement of the branches and its foliage, with a base structure that levels the irregularities of the ground and a height that permits its integration among the oak trees—an organic structure with subtle movement.

At The Watermill Center, the duration of the piece was dictated by place and climate. In many instances Bunga has intervened in his structures by purposely collapsing them, accelerating the action of time and deterioration. Here, the wind had the advantage and deconstructed the piece two days after it was finished. Autumn Red fell during the same time as many of the leaves in its surroundings, in the middle of the darkness. We are left with the foundations, its documentation and absence—a concept that accompanies many of the artist’s works. In a time of image saturation, where the world is explained through them, a challenge would be to make something that once existed, invisible, and pave way to imagination.

Autumn Red was idea and form, as well as absence and mistakes. Its fragility speaks of the passing of time, life cycles, the importance of processes and transformation. Art can also die, however what counts is the seed.