dilution

Context:
The landscape of Mexico and its history is marked by pyramids. The form, aesthetic and presence is strong and part of the cultural environment of Mexico. Even when the Spanish conquered the country, they covered a vast amount of pyramids, by simply building a church or convent on top of it. Such example is the convent building of the Museum of Ex Teresa.

Another aspect of Mexico City is its dried out lake, it once was built on. Hundreds of years ago the lake started to dry out slowly, due to the excessive use of water, leaving behind dry canals, which are nowadays the major transportation routes for cars and buses within the city. This transformation into a dry land, with problem of watersupply today, is a present topic in peoples every day live.

self-destructive sculpture/installation, 2,5 m x 1,5m x 1,5m
dilution worked with the element of a self-constructive pyramid, made out of 40kg of sugar cubes, filled with black charcoal powder.
An ice block was hanging above it, in the big Chapel of Ex Teresa, and slowly melted, so the water dripped continuously on top of the pyramid, and dissolved it into a black, falling apart, sculpture over the period of 2 weeks. The sound of the dripping water was amplified through a contact mic plate underneath the pyramid.

basement installation/sound
The second part of dilution happened in the archival cellar of the building. Entering through a tiny whole in the floor, into the original basement, which was once the actual street level of the 17th century before the Spanish build the Convent on top, you could sit and perceive a slowly transforming installation. This installation as well, worked with melting ice, and was amplifying the cracking sounds. A light installation made the naturally created mist visible. People could sit on chairs and let the space and its ambience fill them with subtleness and contemplation.

performance
The third part of the installation was a live-performance, stretching over several hours. A melting ice cube was installed as a pendulum above a 12 m long fabric. From time to time the ice cube was moved by the two performers, which stood facing each other on each side of the fabric, moving slowly back and forth. The movement of the performers was made visible through charcoal traces, providing a gradient remnant-drawing, which is able to be exhibited in various formats.

with the kind support of
Federal Chancellery Austria,
Foro Cultural de Austria Mexico
and Amexcid.