patricia mato-mora's tactical installation takes over the joan miró museum in spain

set as the largest exhibition in her hometown, the ‘posidònia’ by spanish artist patricia mato-mora is an immersive installation that culminates her artist residency at the joan miró museum in palma de mallorca. the piece evokes the city’s maritime identity, taking the port atmosphere to the interior of the gallery. 

initial installation, day 1
image © plastiques.co

patricia mato-mora realized the artwork entirely of ceramic components, and is still currently on show at the joan miró museum. upon entering the exhibition space, visitors are met with ceramic chains that inhabit the ceiling, floor and walls. these are made out of red stoneware clay (stained with oxides), fired in a gas kiln with a ‘reduction’ firing (without oxygen) to 1280ºC (cone 9). ‘thanks to this material treatment, the ceramic material recalls the rust that the sea causes on any adjoining materials, particularly metals. the sea, at the same time, is an extremely important element in majorca’s history,’ as the artist puts it. 

natural/man-made line of ‘tide’, related to the height of the average visitor
image © prisca laguna

the room has been interpreted as the subaquatic space of a dock, and visitors find themselves submerged in the ceramic choreography, walking on the seabed where anchors are resting. they are invited to tie a little nylon string from the ceramic sculptures, creating a natural/man-made line of ‘tide’ related to the height of the average visitor, and reminiscent of the line where barnacles stop growing on chains that moor boats to the harbour.

the ‘growth’ of this hypersculpture, made of nylon strings, is completely unexpected, and cannot be controlled by the artist. in this way, the ceramic chains are the armature that allows the organic growth to take place. in fact, the artist has been interested in working with submarine growth patterns, such as those of barnacles, muscles and other sea creatures, since 2014. on this occasion, through the element of visitor interaction, she aims to lose control of the end result and understand how the visitor reacts to the piece, not different from how an aquatic creature might react to the chains with which boats are moored.

detail of the natural-manmade tide line
image © prisca laguna

this line of thinking was set up in her distinction masters dissertation, titled a single ecstasy. in it, patricia explores the illusory notion of a division between man and nature; an idea firmly rooted in eastern philosophy. with posidònia, she aims to manifest the very same ‘flow of the universe’ that causes submarine invertebrates to inhabit man-made chains in harbors; questioning the very animality of the visitor. in the installation, the material of ceramics is working entirely in tension, which is a very unique application of this material, commonly found structurally in compression.this has been made possible thanks to the collaboration of rasti bartek at cundall engineering, and dr. luc vandeperre at imperial college london. 

natural/man-made line of ‘tide’, related to the height of the average visitor
image © prisca laguna

in addition to the installation, the corridor leading to the exhibition space titled ‘espai cúbic’ is filled with photographs, drawings and videos explaining the creative process. the residency and exhibition have been made possible thanks to the pilar juncosa and sotheby’s biennial prize, of which patricia is the latest awardee.

detail of the parasitic growth on the day of the opening
image © plastiques.co

visitors find themselves submerged in the ceramic choreography, walking on the seabed
image © plastiques.co

initial installation, day 1
image © plastiques.co

posidonia installation timelapse 
video from nena mora

image © plastiques.co

image © plastiques.co

image © plastiques.co

parasitic growth
image © prisca laguna

visitors are invited to tie a little nylon string from the ceramic sculptures
image © prisca laguna

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom