Exhibition

Mies Blotches

Domi Mora (Spain)

Alt Art Space

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“Alison and Peter Smithson had described the [Barcelona] Pavilion as having the presence of the ‘primitive’ underlying it, with a sense of caves embedded in the travertine, for example. [We] asked Domi Mora… to investigate the ‘primitive’ in the marble of the Pavilion. To [our] surprise, Mora photographed not only many ‘caves’ in the travertine but ancient, primitive or futuristic figures mirrored in the marble which usually are not perceived by the visitor… They remind the presence of unforeseen beings inhabiting the architecture, beyond the abstract architectural concept. Some of the images are like the blots of Rorschach tests, delving into the capacity of the brain to find figures. The Pavilion is never empty. Its smooth polished abstract surfaces are home to many creatures from the deep past and the deep future.” –BT

Mies Blotches is a photographic series by anthropologist, photographer, professor and writer Domi Mora. Commissioned by Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue in 1997 for an exhibition, the series presents close-ups of the marbles at the Barcelona Pavilion designed by Mies van der Rohe, inside the Pavilion. The photographs demand the active participation of the viewer, as upon closer inspection they reveal a whole population of primitive-looking figures and animals, or even aliens.