DARÍO ESCOBAR: THE WEIGHT OF MEMORY

Reality traverses symbols and poetics, adjusting itself to the times. Kukulkan II, a seminal work by artist Darío Escobar, created for the 53rd Venice Biennial in 2009, serves as a contemporary allegory of the Pre-Hispanic god who governed and created astronomical sciences. This deity's significance in Mesoamerican cultures stems from its ability to synthesize past and future, connecting them symbolically through the serpent. By employing this image, Escobar establishes a dialogue between this recurring cultural motif and the industrial products ubiquitous in modern society.

The sculpture consists of five hundred bicycle tires fastened together with screws, suspended from the ceiling through a system of pulleys balanced with plumb bobs. It occupies an expansive 250 square meters of the exhibition space. Kukulkan II unfolds in space like an elongated shadow. Viewed externally, the rubber's color and malleability allow the piece to be interpreted as the continuous trace of a calligraphic line; seen from within, it appears as a constructed object, repurposing everyday materials into cultural and symbolic references.

Tires, composed of rubber, are central to the piece's symbolism. Rubber, or "caucho" in Spanish, is a highly durable material capable of adapting its shape to absorb impacts. The word "caucho" originates from a tree native to the Americas. However, the Spanish term derives from a word documented by French explorers in the Amazon, who called it "cautchouc," meaning "weeping tree." By incorporating this material into Kukulkan II, Escobar closes a cultural and historical cycle: the artwork uses a material extracted from the Americas, manufactured in Asia, and distributed globally, only to return it to its cultural point of origin in the form of a zoomorphic entity.

The silent eloquence of the piece emerges from the way it interacts with light. The exhibition room's lighting is designed to create an effect reminiscent of that produced by Mayan sculptures. This detail is significant because the placement of these sculptures on temple exteriors generates shadows that evoke the duality of the feathered serpent: part spectator, part deity, and lord of astronomical cycles. Each spring equinox at the Pyramid of Kukulkán in the ruins of Chichén Itzá, a play of light and shadow creates the illusion of the feathered serpent (Quetzalcoatl) slithering down the temple steps. Escobar's work directly alludes to this optical phenomenon, well-known throughout Mesoamerica.

15 Years Later
Revisiting Kukulkan II by Darío Escobar in 2025, now exhibited in Denmark, underscores its continued relevance to contemporary thought. The work addresses complex themes, including Pre-Columbian cultures and the intertwined economic and historical processes that underpin its poetics. Through this piece, Escobar liquefies the permanence of narratives, reshaping and reimagining the symbolic possibilities born from the baroque forms produced by consumerism and the languid obsolescence of the purity of myths.

Kilde:
(Nils Stærk Gallery) Javier Payeras, Guatemala, 2025