Lucía Reissig Buenos Aires, 1994

Bernardo Zabalaga Cochabamba, 1978

The creatures created by Lucía Reissig and Bernardo Zabalaga invite contact. Though their morphology is dubious, they somehow seem familiar; they suggest a relational understanding of the world. These pieces are a cross between pet and transitional object, a place to take shelter and rest. Living and moving sculptures, they arouse a sense of familiarity, coexistence, and mutual parenting; they take care of us and are taken care of by us in a bodily exchange that goes beyond the subject/object, self/other dichotomies. Permeability refers to a material’s ability to let a fluid flow through it without altering its inner structure. And permeability is one of these creatures’ vital traits. Indeed, it is crucial to all of Zabalaga and Reissig’s work, which generates experiences of mutual care and healing as a form of spirituality.