Body Architecture - Collective Wear 4 persons
Date:
1996
Ref:
0056.01
Materials:
Aluminium coated polyamide, microporous polyester, telescopic aluminium armatures 427cm, grip soles
Dimensions:
180 x 180 x 150cm
Exhibition history:
2009 ISELP Brussels, Belgium; 2006 Radford University Art Museum, USA; 2005 Centre for Architecture New York, USA; 2006 MOCA North Miami, USA; 1999 Kelving Grove Museum, Glasgow, Scotland
Courtesy:
Lucy + Jorge Orta
Following on from the Refuge Wear series (1992-1998), Lucy Orta began working on Body Architecture, shifting the focus away from the microcosm of the individual to the macrocosm of the community and communal modular habitations. These structures embody the principle of solidarity so central to Orta’s thinking and establish physical links between individuals, symbolizing the myriad ties that can be forged emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Reflecting on the significance of this work within a social context, the French cultural theorist Paul Virilio concluded that Body Architecture units constitute a metaphoric remedy for the problems facing society: “The precarious nature of society is no longer that of the unemployed or the abandoned, but that of individuals socially alone. In the proximate vicinity our families are falling apart. One’s individual life depends on the warmth of the other. The warmth of one gives warmth to the other. The physical link weaves the social link.”