Félix Luna's 'Efemérides Habitables' Interrogates Photography and History at MUNAL
Félix Luna's exhibition, titled 'Efemérides Habitables', offers a critical examination of photography's influence on national history, drawing from his 2014 piece 'Espejos Opacos' in response to a 2013 MUNAL showcase on Mexican photography. Partnering with curator Andrés Aguilera Patiño, Luna manipulates historical images to question established narratives, beginning with the nation’s inaugural daguerreotype. He presents monochrome photographs spanning from 1839 to 1940, incorporating CMYK squiggles to signify continuity. By inverting labor-related images, he eliminates stereotypes and creates voids, with discarded images arranged on the floor. All photographs are placed on quicklime, representing the images' neutralization. The exhibition features 'Hay Ausencias Que Representan un Verdadero Triunfo' and a central display with a golden disc alongside an inverted bronze sculpture.
Key facts
- Félix Luna's exhibition 'Efemérides Habitables' features his 2014 work 'Espejos Opacos'
- The work responds to a 2013 photography history exhibition at MUNAL in Mexico City
- Luna collaborated with historian-turned-curator Andrés Aguilera Patiño on image selection
- Photographs span 1839 to 1940 and are manually distorted through mechanical modifications
- Images are organized with CMYK-colored lines: magenta=keep, black=archive, cyan=discard, yellow=forget
- Photos related to factories, mining, and labor are displayed upside-down
- Removed images are piled at four cardinal points on the floor
- All photographs rest on quicklime (calcium oxide), material used in silver mining
Entities
Artists
- Félix Luna
- Andrés Aguilera Patiño
Institutions
- Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL)
- ArtReview
Locations
- Mexico City
- Mexico
- Europe
- Durango
- Lecumberri