About the 2024 Residency<\/b><\/p>\n
my computer is afraid of dying<\/span><\/i> is the title of the web project created by Federico Reyes Mesa in response to the research and conceptualization process for the current exhibition Collection on stage #5: Fetish: Material Conversations<\/i>, which features 42 works from the MAMBO Collection. The project\u2019s title is a metaphor for Federico’s first day as a resident at MAMBO, when his computer stopped working. It reflects on concepts such as virtual relationality, artificial intelligence, and the relationship between people and computational technologies\u2014elements central to the current exhibition cycle at the Museum.<\/p>\n The Curatorial Residency consisted of two primary phases: one focused on research and conceptualization, and the other on creation. During the first phase<\/strong>, Federico actively participated in the research and conceptualization processes of Fetish<\/i> exhibition, part of MAMBO’s third exhibition cycle in 2024. He engaged in working sessions with the Museum’s curatorial team, allowing him to explore both the theoretical aspects of curating and the direct organization and planning of the exhibition.<\/p>\n Through this collaboration, Federico worked with artworks from the collection, exploring the historical and conceptual relationship between the artists and the Museum, as well as how these pieces were integrated into the collection. He also identified additional works that aligned with the conceptual frameworks of Fetiche<\/i>, further enriching the curatorial process. His participation not only focused on analyzing the works but also on deepening the artists’ trajectories, examining their ideas, motivations, and themes linked to the curatorial categories developed for the exhibition. This first stage of the residency concluded with the creation of the curatorial text for the Animismo \/ Espiritismo<\/i> section and the review of other curatorial texts, to which he contributed his perspective and interpretation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.mambogota.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/5_mambo-animismo-3-1-scaled.jpg” title_text=”5_mambo-animismo-3 (1)” _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Foto installation view secci\u00f3n Animismo \/ Espiritismo<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||10px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n The <\/span>second phase <\/b>of the residency involved developing a digital response to the earlier processes of conceptualization and research, exploring curatorial possibilities within the institution. In this way, Federico developed my computer is afraid of dying<\/i>, a web project that brings together a series of actions and choreographies situated between the creative, museographic, and curatorial practices, with techno-mysticism as the central concept. Through this web project, Federico addresses various concepts derived from the curatorial research, such as the untranslatable, the void, web surfing, internet culture, spirituality, and opacity.<\/p>\n The actions within my computer is afraid of dying<\/i> unfold on the web and on a computer desktop, yet extend into other temporalities, each exploring the relationship between the user, artificial intelligence, and various computational and digital technologies. will I burn down my house?<\/i><\/b>\u00a0 involves a meticulous search for the shadow of Google\u2019s camera in random locations on Google Maps, revealing flaws in the logic behind self-concealment algorithms. Kentucky Derby <\/i><\/b>documents the penitence of a woman in a church, using images obtained from insecam.org, a website that hosts live streams from publicly accessible security cameras, highlighting the extent and normalization of various digital surveillance practices. In \u9053\u5fb7\u7d93<\/b> three AI-generated characters created via synthesia.io recite chapter eleven of the D\u00e0od\u00e9 j\u012bng<\/i>, reflecting on the untranslatable, digital spirituality, and hollowed entities. RIP (Positivist Interior Reconstruction)<\/i><\/b> invites the viewer on a tour through the interior of 3D models of ceremonial or ritual spaces and objects like temples, tombs, or ornaments, published on sketchfab.com and created with scaniverse.com, exploring the negative spaces produced by 3D scanning reconstruction algorithms and speculating on what these technologies fail to capture. Lastly, Finally, The Future<\/i><\/b> is a composition of windows presenting a fragment of dialogue between the Painter and the Poet in the first act of Timon of Athens<\/i>, accompanied by imagery related to contemporary technological development, such as satellite transmissions or audiovisual records of coltan mines.<\/p>\n my computer is afraid of dying<\/i> plays with the notions of invisibility and negative space through movement captured by the camera: when we position ourselves in front of it, the image freezes, and we see our reflection; when we hide from the camera, the actions come to life and begin to unfold. There is an exchange of actions and reactions between the user and the computer.<\/p>\n In the text introducing the web project, Federico begins by recounting stories that, even without knowing each other, feel familiar. He mentions social media trends anecdotally and invites us to dive into understanding and questioning computational behavior, connecting everything with the concepts explored during the first phase of the project.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_button url_new_window=”on” button_text=”my computer is afraid of dying” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_button][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Federico Reyes Mesa<\/b> (Colombia) is an artist, editorial designer, and holds a master\u2019s degree in Cultural Studies. He has worked as an advisor on research-creation processes for the 46th National Salon of Artists, the Women, Arts, and Care Program, and various music programs at the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Knowledge in Colombia. He has also been a production assistant and designer for Espacio Ode\u00f3n, a production and programming assistant for Fundaci\u00f3n Ambulante Colombia, and an editorial design consultant for the IOM.<\/p>\n