First recognized for his photographic cutouts of the most significant buildings in the world, Mexican artist
As if cropping and rephrasing words to create new text in the vein of
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Davila explains, “In his seminal text Totem und Tabu, Freud explains these objects as material reminders and warnings. They are also inhabited by immaterial beings, which implies an obvious contradiction for the Western mind.
Totems were destroyed or cloistered into the exhibition rooms of museums; columns were transformed into pedestals and plinths. Paradoxically these classic architectural elements took distance from the building itself and became a sort of transition ground between the sculptural object and the architectural space.”
Each element of Dávila’s totems represents the various aesthetic signatories of sculpture throughout art movements over the centuries. Perfect cubes balance atop ancient Roman figures; shiny chrome spheres contrast raw, rough-edged brick. The configurations are almost a visual summary, demonstrating iterations of distinct sculptural trends. Combining them in such a contrasting, methodically contradictory way feels a little rebellious.
Dávila’s inspired use of geometry and diverse materiality throughout his work continues to make us intrigued, which really counts for something in these over-saturated times.
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