2 minute read
Skin Deep
Born in Madrid, Jorge Otero-Pailos left home at 13 to study in the USA. Today, he’s an architect, artist and theorist with a special interest in forms of preservation. His intriguing, large-scale wall hangings are made from pollution, ‘harvested’ from historic buildings by coating them in latex, which is later peeled off, taking centuries of dirt with it.
Q: How did you arrive at this unusual art form?
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A: I was trying to come up with a way for people to see pollution as a material. There are artists who work with it, but as a pigment. I wanted to allow it to tell its own story. It’s a paradox that we owe our civilization to pollution, yet pollution threatens to destroy us. Restoration simply erases it from the visual realm. Most architectural preservation perpetuates the idea that pollution has no place in our culture, so I wanted to find a meaningful place for it.
Q: It’s a long-running project you’re engaged in, isn’t it?
A: Yes. It’s called The Ethics of Dust and it began in the Italian Alps, at the Alumix aluminium factory in Bolzano. Then I took it to Venice, to the Doge’s Palace. The next piece was in London.
Q: With The Ethics of Dust, you’ve used a phrase of John Ruskin’s.
A: Ruskin was the founder of modern conservation; he talked about the surfaces of buildings and he lived at a time when pollution accelerated. I’m kind of retracing his footsteps. He wrote about the Doge’s Palace, of course, and I made a piece there. Then he went to the Alps, where I’ve also worked, and soon I’ll be in London, Ruskin’s backyard.
Q: How do you make these pieces?
A: I use a latex that you can add detergent to – this helps to lightly lift off the pollution. I paint it on, wait for it to dry, and peel it off. This is tricky – the latex sheets are very big, and can rip; you need a few people to do it. Then the sheets are hung and illuminated. What’s interesting about the finished objects is that you can view them from two sides – the front side shows the pollution; the back side is a view from within that layer, next to the stone itself. That’s something you normally can’t see.
Q: How do people respond to them?
A: As if they are looking at something precious and lovely, with great depth. Sometimes they think they’re looking at gold leaf. Generally, they’re surprised at the beauty of the objects.
Q: Does your work have implications for conservation?
A: Conservation thinks of itself as mechanical, but my work casts light on its creative dimension – something we don’t often appreciate. After all, when we look at a historical monument, we’re seeing the results of conservation. The past is a mediated experience, and conservation is the mediator.
oteropailos.com
Words JANE SZITA
Photos COURTESY OF JORGE OTERO-PAILOS
