Studio Orta

Âmes vertes —GREEN SOULS— is an exhibition curated by French historian Paul Ardenne at Friche de la Belle de Mai in Marseille from 8 February to 1 June 2025. This exhibition invites audiences to reflect on their relationship with the living world through artworks that strive for ecological moderation and shape new ecosophical models.

A highlight of the exhibition is Symphony for Absent Wildlife (2014-2020). This immersive installation features a life-size orchestra dressed in felt top and tails, wearing masks of creatures once abundant on the Albertan plains of Canada. Bison, moose, wapiti, wolves, grizzly bears, mountain goats, beavers, and eagles have been pushed to near extinction by exploitative human practices. The costumed orchestra, video, and soundscape create a fully immersive environment, evoking the loss of cultural heritage and endangered ecosystems.

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What happens when we not only accept the walls around us as a given, but consciously perceive, conquer, and shape them?

This question will be explored through the pioneering BODY ARCHITECTURE works by Lucy Orta, presented in the exhibition My Room More than 4 Walls at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Junge Kunsthalle from 1 February to 21 September 2025. Young audiences will be invited to interact with the arm, hood, or leg appendages of the sculpture, exploring ways in which dwelling spaces are constructed emotionally, intellectually, socially, and spiritually.

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Meteoros refers to the ancient Greek word meaning “high in the air.” Clouds also evoke the cycles of water, exploring its scarcity and abundance, a theme we have been investigating through the long-term project OrtaWater since 2005. In this work, clouds carry life-size figures on an imaginary journey through the skies. METEOROS (2015) is presented in a new installation at The Hyundai Daegu in South Korea from 2 January to 31 May 2025. Visitors will experience the work up close, where mirror plinths create the impression of clouds floating in space, challenging ways in which sculpture engages with everyday life.

We are thrilled to share the trailer for the feature film SEED, directed by David Bickerstaff, set to premiere at film festivals soon.

Jorge Orta, who endured the brutal military regime that terrorized Argentina between 1974-1983, revisits his past in this poignant film. During this ‘Dirty War,’ suspected communists, artists, intellectuals, and writers were detained, tortured, and raped under a state-sponsored campaign of eradication. In response, Jorge created many performances and artworks that could not be revealed at the time.

Decades later, Jorge embarks on a journey from the spectacular deserts of Central America to the streets of Buenos Aires, recalling the corruption and performing acts of protest and resistance. Using non-actors and minimal dialogue, this film is a poetic exploration of one man’s journey through an epic landscape, reflecting on the loss of innocence, oppressive states, and human cruelty.

For the 60th October Salon, Lucy + Jorge Orta staged the 47th act of  70 x 7 The Meal. Under the framework of ‘Trace’ curated by Lorenzo Balbi and Dobrila Denegri, this inaugural commission for the biennale was devised as a collective proposition to create a dialogue between artists, the city's cultural scene and the structures that determine cultural policy at the local and state level.
 
200 guests convened in front of the Cultural Centre of Belgrade on Friday, October 18, around a table setting which aimed to answer questions devised in conversation with Serbian artists and cultural sector workers. Four thematic areas explored the conditions under which artists are working, the role of the artist in society today, the needs of the cultural organisations and how national policies effect cultural practices. To facilitate conversations, guests found provocations printed on the table runners and embroidered on napkins realized by collective NEpraktične žeNE forming a collective manifesto that further unfolded through interactions during the meal courtesy of chef Vladimir Zoplet. 

My centre everywhere, the special project for Moderne Art Fair as artistes invités, is inspired by the poem ‘Amazonia’ written by British eco-poet Mario Petrucci and based on video footage recorded by Lucy and Jorge in the Amazon rainforest. Commencing in the Andes where mountain glaciers are melting at a faster rate than ever recorded and descending to the Amazon river basin where mercury mining is devasting the river’s ecological balance, Petrucci reconstructs the artists’ expedition through the positionality of Gaia, and Man, a dichotomy between the ecologically-centred thinking and Progress.

The installation comprised of a range of different artworks from the artists’ Amazonia series, forming a interrelated microcosm of mediums and formats that reflect the imaginary and complexity of our natural world. We see trees, plants, flowers, insects, birds rendered in drawing, painting, crafted in textiles, embroidered, and sculpted. The artworks are a compilation of visual and sensory data collected and transcribed from regions of the world the artists have visited, indicative of the interwoven nature of biodiversity they observe first-hand. Further information in the catalogue.

My centre everywhere was made possible thanks to Hum media, with special thanks to Frederick Moraux and Flavie Durand-Ruel.

For the Jing’an International Sculpture Project 2024 curated by UCCA Lab, Lucy + Jorge Orta presented Genius Loci —a new commission in the Genius Loci series, representing the ‘spirit of the place’ traversing time, past, present, future, shaping cultural, social and ecological transitions.

For the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and under the artistic direction of COAL, Plaine commune presents Les Victoires, an artistic project including 6 monumental works along the redesigned banks of the Canal Saint-Denis.

In the series Genius Loci, Lucy + Jorge Orta have created “L’envol”, a life-size bronze sculpture of a child holding a bird in his hand. Placed on the footbridge overlooking the Canal Saint-Denis and the Olympic Stadium, this universal figure symbolises the link between generations, a dynamic and poetic image of renewal for a neighbourhood in the making, at the heart of urban and ecological transitions. It shows us the road ahead and the future with all the fervour of youth.

A project in collaboration with COAL and in partnership with the cities of Saint-Denis, Aubervilliers and Paris.

To celebrate its 15th anniversary, COAL, leading association for art and ecology, presents a major multidisciplinary exhibition curated by Lauranne Germond and Sara Dufour, showcasing nearly 50 artists representing the richness and variety of approaches of the ecological art scene.

For this special occasion, a group of ten "Procession banners 1918-2018" co-created with inmates of London's HMP Downview prison are presented for the first time in France. They commemorate the centenary of the suffragette movement, and more precisely the achievements of the British women who fought for women's right to vote at the dawn of the 20th century. The banners reveal liberating slogans in memory of the 1,000 women who were imprisoned in the same place for fighting for their rights, one hundred years earlier. Side by side, these banners form a clam or that echoes through the ages and reaches us today, imbued with eco-feminist fervor, it is also a call to action for climate rights. 

For the 8th Beaufort Triennial curated by Els Wuyts, Lucy + Jorge Orta have created Gazing Ball: Reflective Dialogues for the Beaufort Sculpture Park, which extends 67km along the Belgium coast.

The Gazing Ball is installed in the town of Middelkerke. Visitors are greeted by the contours of a small architecture – open and boundless –; it is an inviting artwork into which people can enter through four passage ways. In the nave of the gathering space, resembling a compass rose, is a large reflective sphere that crowns the artwork, capturing the constantly shifting play of light and shadow. As in previous Potential Architecture works by the artists, the reflections offer new perspectives on the landscape while humbly situating the viewers within their surroundings. Seated within, visitors are given a moment for contemplation, self-reflection, and to engage in conversation. It is art on a human scale.
 
‘Gazing Ball: Reflective Dialogues’ also pays homage to adjacent Radio Oostende station. Wireless telegraphy played a crucial role in ensuring safety along the Oostende-Dover route, serving as an essential connection between the shore and ships. The sculpture not only establishes a tangible connection between people, but also a symbolic connection between heaven and earth, past and present.

As part of the 2024 Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale public program, Lucy + Jorge Orta staged a sohour meal for the local community, making this the 46th activation of their ongoing participatory project 70 x 7 The Meal. 

A long table installation for 300 guests overlooked Wadi Hanifah, a seasonal river and caravan route that historically led pilgrims along the valley to the market sustaining them with food and water along the way. The menu was prepared by Chef Hissa Alhuthaili (Suhail) based on local food traditions and interventions by local Saudi artists, botanists, heritage experts, farmers punctuated the evening. The table artworks created by Lucy + Jorge specifically for the occasion included a limited edition of Royal Limoges porcelain plates and hand embroidered table centrepieces that drew attention to the natural fertility of the Wadi Hanifah and the garden city of Riyadh, faced with the encroachment of the urban development and loss of traditional knowledge. Field research on the native local species in collaboration with botanists from NCVC, and on the symbolic meaning of traditional Sadu motifs (Atharna), came together in these table artworks through a lexicon of figurative and abstract geometric shapes to share a new language of resilience.

Special thanks to the National Centre for Vegetation Cover Development & Combating Desertification (NCVC); Dr Dlayel bint Mutlaq bin Shafi Al-Qahtani (Atharna); DBF co-curators Ute Meta Bauer, Wejdan Reda, Anca Rujoiu with curatorial assistants Amina Diab, Dian Arumningtyas, Alanood A. Al-Sudairi.

After Rain, 2024 Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale under the artistic direction of Ute Meta Bauer, opens up a moment of revitalisation and renewal, as a nurturing entity, filled with life, while acknowledging the necessity of water for all forms of life that dwell and seek shelter on our planet. The biennale hosts 100 artists and researchers situating their work in a wider narrative of the coexistence of humans and non-humans. All life-forms are exposed to the effects of climate change—torrential rains, lack of rain, unpredictable rain—and its effects of forced displacement, the destruction of habitats and livelihoods, and the extinction of species. Concerns about access to clean water, food, and shelter have become the norm. The biennale amplifies the need not only to listen but also to be heard as well as the capacity to cultivate kinship are therefore essential for a liveable future.

The installation OrtaWater Purification Factory by Lucy + Jorge Orta magnifies shared concerns about access to water, as this severely impacts the habitats of humans and other life forms. The work offers a potential solution for water purification and has already proved that the most polluted rivers and canals of Venice, Shanghai, Rotterdam, Paris, and Singapore can be transformed into clean, flowing life-sources. Here at the Diriyah biennale, the sculpture-assemblage looks out of the large windows to the Wadi Hanifah, an important seasonal riverbed that extends across Diriyah, suggesting a dialogue between this unique landscape.

Special thanks to DBF co-curators Ute Meta Bauer, Wejdan Reda, Rose Lejeune, Anca Rujoiu, Ana Salazar Herrera, Rahul Gudipudi with curatorial assistants Amina Diab, Dian Arumningtyas, Alanood A. Al-Sudairi.

Lucy + Jorge Orta are proud to unveil a new commission by 2024 European Capital of Culture Bad Ischl Salzkammergut Region for the exhibition « Art with Salt and Water » curated by Gottfried Hattinger in Sudhaus.  OrtaWater Plätte Water Filtration Unit is made of a plätte —a boat which historically was used to transport salt also called « white gold » on the river Traun recalling the essential aspect of water in industrial processes— mounted on a steel structure including additional crafted objects from the artists’ vast collection. This artwork is part of the long-term meta project OrtaWater addressing the critical issues of water scarcity and access to clean water.

Photo: Schiffleutmuseum, Stadl-Paura

Traces: Stories of Migration, touring from the Nunnery Gallery, pays homage to the layers of history in London's East End. The work on exhibition at LCF East Bank, the University of the Arts London new campus in Stratford, East London unfolded through a two-year program of community workshops, engaging over 70 local residents who, each in their own way, identify as an immigrant. Participants involved have shared stories of their migratory journeys, describing the complexity of making a home in a city marked indelibly by mobility and constant change. These stories are visible in "Story Cloths" made by each participant, alongside the Portrait Gallery, a new body of work by Lucy Orta on display in the main gallery of Designed for Life.

Seeds are hand-blown Murano glass pods, husks, kernels, flowering heads and pollens based on real and imaginary specimens that have been magnified to illuminate their beauty and provide a metaphor for community regeneration, growth and resilience. The exhibition ‘Seeds’ is presented in the Old Kitchen and Pastry Room, spaces that reflect the historic food related activities of the 18th century Harewood House. It follows the 45th activation of 70 x 7 The Meal, co-created with communities of Leeds to foreground the political and ecological aspects of food as well as an agent of community which can carry the potential of positive change.

The 45th act of the artists' ongoing project, 70 x 7 The Meal, was held at Harwood House as part of The Big Harewood Garden Party on the weekend of 8-9 July 2023.

The project utilises 70 x 7 as a metaphor for meals that bring people together through the ritual of dining in uncommon settings. The symbol functions as a networking device, with each new instance creating a chain reaction of shared experiences and connections that extend beyond the individual events. 70 x 7 The Meal Act XVL on the Terrace at Harewood House draws inspiration from Lucy + Jorge Orta's 'Seed Manifesto', reflecting on the growth and life cycle of the seed. The newly commissioned Royal Limoges porcelain plates placed the seed as a central motif, while the table runner showcased images and text collected as part of the workshops led by Lucy + Jorge Orta. Art students from the University of Leeds contributed to the design of the napkins, while the menu was designed and prepared by students at Leeds City College, taking inspiration from the same theme. This table-setting became a discursive platform for diverse communities involved in the community engagement.

The Nunnery Gallery presents Lucy Orta. Traces: Stories of Migration an exploration into the diverse migration histories and stories woven into the landscape of east London. In partnership with London College of Fashion’s Making for Change as part of The Portal Centre for Social Impact, Lucy Orta engaged with eighty residents across east London over a two-year period, leading storytelling workshops and using the creative medium of textiles to develop artistic expressions through which first, second and third generation migrant histories and heritage have been honoured.  

The exhibition showcases Lucy Orta’s new body of work, Portrait Gallery created in response to the community engagement. Lucy challenges the convention of portraiture using silk organza appliqué, hand and machine embroidery and beadwork to reflect the unique characteristics of each person involved in the workshops. The Portrait Gallery exposes a myriad of trajectories, the memories accumulated as people journey from one place to another recognising each persons’ lived experience. 

Alongside Lucy’s work the exhibition presents a selection of Story Cloths made by participants. Accompanying the exhibition is a short film documenting the impact of the project and Needle Around Her Neck, a book of poetry inspired by the stories of migration written by author Nathalie Abi-Ezzi.

Downlaod the exhibition catalogue here.

On Saturday 22nd April, the Granary Square in King’s Cross will become the stage for an intuitive, culturally rooted ritual to welcome in Earth Day 2023. Set against the backdrop of the three striking 60-foot Fabulae Naturae draperies adorning the Granary Building, the performance combines costume, dance and drumming to create a visual spectacle that blurs the boundary between body and architecture where the protagonists of the spectacle are ‘The Lost Species’: species that have gone extinct or whose symbolic meanings have disappeared from our collective imagination, or those that are invisible in urban environments.
Granary Square will be filled with rhythmic drumming and performers dressed in Lucy Orta’s immense circular skirts; lavishly coloured designs that mirror the intertwining lost species depicted on the draperies. In collaboration with Alexander Whitley Dance Company and the drummer Beanie, the performers transform the skirts into billowing sails that assemble the species into a joyous ritual, bursting with energy to re-wild the square.

The Lost Species has been commissioned by King’s Cross Artist in Residence Programme 2022-2023, with the support of UAL's Climate Emergency Network and Centre for Sustainable Fashion.

Seeking Blue Gold is a new site-specific installation by Lucy + Jorge Orta that takes shape beneath the dome of the Oratorio di San Filippo Neri in Bologna. Curated by Cristina Francucci and Tatiana Basso, Seeking Blue Gold is one of the main projects of ART CITY Bologna 2023 for the occasion of Arte Fiera, and part of the contemporary art programme at the Fondazione del Monte di Bologna e Ravenna.

The allocation and consumption of water—renamed “blue gold” a term that came to public attention after the documentary film based on the book by Claude Barlow (2003)—are central themes in the Ortas’ poetics, examined in light of the controversial and inequitable development, distribution, and access policies that affect this resource globally. With Seeking Blue Gold, we are asked to become aware of the complex universe disclosed by water. Wooden artifacts from a rural world in which they are still used in traditional irrigation form the centerpiece of the tripartite installation—mounted on steel structures along with contemporary crafted objects from the artists’ vast collection. The installation components arise as symbolic functional totems expressing the inexhaustible confrontation, at times the dichotomy between an ancestral image of the rural past, linked to natural rhythms and the exacerbation of the Baconian ideal of progress that, child of the West, that rages today in many developing countries.

For the first time in France, the Pompidou-Metz will unite the Connector Mobile Village sculpture for the major group exhibition, A Gateway to Possible Worlds. The utopian architectural structure envisions new modes of habitation with mobile and modular potential. The village connects individual personalized bivouacs to a system of linear modules and nodes. Its flexibility allows each individual to exert the freedom of choice, by connecting to or disconnecting reconfiguring into a multitude of  formations.

The major project Antarctica will also be on view with a large installation of dome dwellings from the Antarctic Village - No Borders, each dwelling being hand stitched with sections of flags from countries around the world, along with extensions of clothes and gloves, symbolising the multiplicity and diversity of people. With Antarctica World Passport Office audiences can collect a copy of the world passport and become a member of the world community, acting to defend the environment and values of peace and equality.