Torolab
01 Sep - 07 Oct 2006
TOROLAB
OMR presents the Torolab collective’s first solo show at the gallery, from September 1 to October 7, 2006.
Torolab can be seen as a workshop/laboratory for territorial research and contextual studies. Founded in Tijuana in 1995 by Raúl Cárdenas Osuna (Mazatlán, Sinaloa, 1969), the collective’s projects deal with politics as well as poetics—including social phenomena, urban space and art discourse—in order to improve the quality of life of the people involved.
Pieces on exhibit will include La región de los pantalones transfronterizos, LRPT (2004–2005), consisting of a topographic scale model with a video projection and audio. This essential piece within the Torolab project deals with trans-border identity, focusing on urban interactions that are negotiated in the environmental context through movement and dissemination.
For this work, Torolab manufactured pants with various pockets whose true function is revealed when the garment is worn by a Mexican citizen: they feature secret compartments for a passport, electronic visa, cell phone, a camera, money, etc. When worn by a US citizen, the pants’ function changes drastically: since they do not require a passport to cross the border, they can use the pants to conceal meds like Zoloft or Viagra, while a credit card takes the place of the electronic visa, etc., turning the trans-border pants into a work of art but also into an urban ethnographic document.
At the same time, the pants incorporate GPS (Global Positioning System) tracking devices, in order to document the trans-border region’s new cartography systems. Five individuals wore the pants and were followed for five days, while all the information about their movements was recorded through the GPS and logbooks. Their route is what is projected on the scale model.
The installation Securetree (2004 –2005) will also be on show. This project is about urban operations dealing with actions of protection, strategies for dialogue, reasons behind security and decisions regarding surveillance, structured and functioning like trees, though the particular fruit they bear is safety.
Torolab’s work has been shown at the New York MoMA, ArtBasel, the Liverpool Biennale and the Beijing Biennale, among other internationally relevant spaces. Since the year 2000, Raúl Cárdenas has presented conferences in Spain, Italy, the United States, Canada and Mexico.
OMR presents the Torolab collective’s first solo show at the gallery, from September 1 to October 7, 2006.
Torolab can be seen as a workshop/laboratory for territorial research and contextual studies. Founded in Tijuana in 1995 by Raúl Cárdenas Osuna (Mazatlán, Sinaloa, 1969), the collective’s projects deal with politics as well as poetics—including social phenomena, urban space and art discourse—in order to improve the quality of life of the people involved.
Pieces on exhibit will include La región de los pantalones transfronterizos, LRPT (2004–2005), consisting of a topographic scale model with a video projection and audio. This essential piece within the Torolab project deals with trans-border identity, focusing on urban interactions that are negotiated in the environmental context through movement and dissemination.
For this work, Torolab manufactured pants with various pockets whose true function is revealed when the garment is worn by a Mexican citizen: they feature secret compartments for a passport, electronic visa, cell phone, a camera, money, etc. When worn by a US citizen, the pants’ function changes drastically: since they do not require a passport to cross the border, they can use the pants to conceal meds like Zoloft or Viagra, while a credit card takes the place of the electronic visa, etc., turning the trans-border pants into a work of art but also into an urban ethnographic document.
At the same time, the pants incorporate GPS (Global Positioning System) tracking devices, in order to document the trans-border region’s new cartography systems. Five individuals wore the pants and were followed for five days, while all the information about their movements was recorded through the GPS and logbooks. Their route is what is projected on the scale model.
The installation Securetree (2004 –2005) will also be on show. This project is about urban operations dealing with actions of protection, strategies for dialogue, reasons behind security and decisions regarding surveillance, structured and functioning like trees, though the particular fruit they bear is safety.
Torolab’s work has been shown at the New York MoMA, ArtBasel, the Liverpool Biennale and the Beijing Biennale, among other internationally relevant spaces. Since the year 2000, Raúl Cárdenas has presented conferences in Spain, Italy, the United States, Canada and Mexico.