Juan Carlos Zaldivar

Lives and works in Miami Beach, FL, USA

Artist statement

Human relationship to physicality is at the core of our work. So are the impermanence, transmutations and transcendences of the physical. I/We apply these concepts to objects, to places and to our own body. The principle of adaptation is also present in our work as it applies to natural survival, as well as human migrations. What is a video/film? Like humans, moving images mostly depend on a physical apparatus (a body) in order to be seen, and just like human bodies these technologies age and perish. We find it fascinating that even though moving images are created by a series of optical illusions, they are widely accepted as “truthful” in our cultures; so much so, that moving images are often equated with human memories and have become integral to how humans understand, validate, and even create new realities. These values represent a double-edged sword because new technologies are becoming so sophisticated that humans are beginning to confuse what is actual or “real” with various types of refined artificial constructions. We are interested in the relationship between natural and artificial constructions because these exchanges always trigger larger questions about our humanity, and because a dialogue between these two elements often spins other dialogues regarding identity, history, transculturalism, power and acceptance. As humans continue to colonize the earth, more and more species will go extinct and many of our physical experiences will disappear, never to be...

Artwork