Oscar Muñoz
October 10, 2018 – February 3, 2019
October 10, 2018 – February 3, 2019
Colombian artist Oscar Muñoz is the recipient of the 2018 Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography for the sum of SEK 1,000,000 (approx. USD 125,000). The award ceremony takes place in Gothenburg, Sweden on October 8, 2018. A symposium will be held on October 9 in honour of Oscar Muñoz, followed by the opening of an exhibition of his work at the Hasselblad Center, and the release of a new book about the artist, published by Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König.
Oscar Munoz is occupied with ideas of transience, memory and mortality. He invites us to engage with photographs and other imagery as ephemeral appearances, and to consider how we try to depict and save collective memories of a place or memories from imagined and real lives lived – as well as lives lost.
As this exhibition shows, a common denominator in Oscar Munoz’ artistic practise is the use of techniques based on traces, impressions and reproducibility. In works such as Narcisos en proceso (1995) Linea del destino (2006) and Aliento (1995–2002), reflections and dissolvement in water become a basis for studying materialization, dematerialization and the merciless passing of time. The large-scale floor installation Ambulatorio (1994), an aerial view of a shattered city serves as a manifestation of shared grief and trauma inflicted by a violent history. The almost blinding work El Metodo Ludovico (2018) presents the difficulties in approaching a historical event through imagery. Munoz’ works are photographic albeit he is not a photographer in a traditional sense.
“Oscar Muñoz’s is one of the most significant contemporary artists in Latin America. His works revolve around time and memory, subjects that are central to photography. He uses ephemeral materials and engages the viewer in installations that explore existential and political questions, often referring to the recent history of Colombia. We are looking forward to a intriguing exhibition to accompany the Hasselblad Award,” note Louise Wolthers and Dragana Vujanović Östlind, curators of the Hasselblad Award exhibition.
To book a guided tour of the exhibition please contact Educator Emma Botin