DE LO INVISIBLE LENGUAJES DE UN RECUERDO

OF THE INVISIBLE
LANGUAGES OF A MEMORY

Exhibition by Benjamín Ossa
Museum of Contemporary Art of Chile
2025

What is invisible about light, what is visible about time?
Benjamín Ossa

The mystery of time lies in the acceptance that it is relative. This notion, according to Albert Einstein's theory of special relativity, establishes an interconnection between space-time as an infinite fabric, the place where all physical events in the universe occur. In Einstein's space-time, time is not absolute, but dependent on the state of motion of the observer. However, the propagation of light always occurs at 300,000 km/s regardless of the reference system from which we observe it. In other words, light is something invariable and constant.

So, from this perspective, two events that seem simultaneous from one person's point of view may not be perceived that way from another person's point of view, and both would be correct; space-time as inseparable entities, what happens to one affects the other. According to physicist Hermann Minkowski, Einstein's theory established that “space and time separately are destined to vanish into the shadows, and only a union of the two can be part of reality.” And so, light propagates in a vacuum at a constant speed; the same for all who observe it, regardless of their state of motion.

Now, let's remember, how do we see light? Light is a small part of the electromagnetic wave spectrum that ranges from cosmic rays to radio waves. And the human eye has evolved to adapt to our main source of light: the sun. Therefore, human vision is constituted in the range of 380 nanometers (nm) to 780 nm, which is available on Earth as solar radiation and acts as the basis for perception. Each wavelength is perceived by the eye as a different color. So, we are left to ask ourselves, what is darkness? The lack of light to perceive things... and what about the invisible? In light of this, I find it interesting to recall the questions posed by Francisco Varela in his book The Phenomenon of Life in relation to the representationalist program: “Why do we think we are obliged to describe colored shadows as illusory and feel uneasy about not finding a correspondence between wavelength and color?” (Varela, p. 154)

Let us return to the idea of a separation of space-time vanished between shadows to think about invisibility. What tools do we have available as human beings to visualize the invisible? Art critic Guy Brett, in his book Exploding Galaxies, in which he takes an in-depth look at the work of David Medalla, includes the following reflection by Medalla on the invisible:

"I believe that the invisible is the totality of what we call life in all its manifest forms: the union of the microcosm and the macrocosm. We perceive this unity only in certain inspired moments. These moments come to us in random ways: through memory (through which we reconnect with our past) and through intuition (through which we build a bridge to our future). Since we live only in the moment, the ‘past’ and the ‘future’ will always be invisible to us." (Brett, p.24)

Memory and intuition are presented here as ways of visualizing the invisible, ways of understanding our relationship with space-time. It is this combination of memory and intuition that artist Benjamín Ossa invites us to explore in De lo invisible: Lenguajes de un recuerdo (Of the Invisible: Languages of Memory) to think about mechanisms of representing time through a phenomenological light experience that challenges us to wander through small constellations within a dark space.

This installation ties in with research that Ossa has been conducting since 2014 on human perception of spatial, temporal, and light phenomena. It takes as its background and starting point his residency at the Eigengrau Laboratory, where he conducted an experiment called Duality/Perception: Temporal Drawing, in which he sought to argue that darkness can be understood as a means of transport or a system of communication. The experiment involved inviting participants of different ages to undergo a timed light experience in darkness, which they then had to represent in three different ways: first, blindfolded, they drew what they had just seen; second, they verbally described the experience; and third, they articulated a representation through body gestures. In this way, each participant left traces of their perception of a dark space through different sensory mechanisms. The experiment sparked a new curiosity in the artist about the construction of new perceptual languages.

From the Invisible: Languages of a Memory seeks to delve deeper into darkness and collectively challenge us to reflect on what we mentioned earlier: light as the same for everyone, who observes to discover in darkness the relationship between space-time-light and how those interrelationships translate into linear notions of representation.

The installation will occupy four rooms of the Museum of Contemporary Art, in which the naturalness of these spaces will be disrupted by constructive and museographic elements that seek to generate a spatial modification unrelated to the surfaces, friction, echoes, and visuals present in the rooms: smooth floors, curved walls that emulate electromagnetic waves, as well as lighting control to present a journey that advances from light to end in a space that invites creation. The installation, spread across different rooms, can also be understood as a complete sculpture in itself.

Ossa invites us to experience conscious space-time, crossing a series of thresholds guided by our intuition to perhaps answer the big question posed at the beginning of this text: What is invisible about light, what is visible about time? The length of time spent in darkness will be determined by each visitor's experience, and they will then face the challenge of portraying their perception in a drawing through the memory or instant recollection of what they have just experienced. In this way, the installation follows in the footsteps of artistic works that understand the observer as the one who completes the work, that is, its creation starts with the artist's ideas and ends with the visual representation of the collective perception of each person who passes through it. As Helio Oiticica aptly describes in his collection of writings entitled Materialismos (Materialisms) – incidentally, a great precursor of experimental experimentation – for him, the artist is the one who proposes and seeks to create "enclosures-experiences, open to meanings, which arise from individual participation. Inhabiting an enclosure is more than just being in it" (Oiticica, p. 151). An experiential enclosure in which a participant is no longer a spectator but a co-creator.

In this call to be co-creators, Ossa proposes that we expose our memories and generate light graphics to make time visible. Each individual perception will give us a language that does not exist about those orbital lights in a space-time of darkness. It will be, then, an invitation to feel-think light and glimpse the differences in perception of that dimension that is said to be constant and absolute in time.

Text by: Maya Errázuriz

Bibliography

Brett, Guy. Explosive Galaxies. The Art of David Medalla. Alias Editorial, 2012.

Freire, Noelia. “Einstein's Theory of Relativity Explained in 5 Key Points,” National Geographic, Sept. 25, 2024, https://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/ciencia/claves-para-entender-teoria-relatividad_19971.

“Eigengrau,” Benjamin Ossa website, accessed January 14, 2025, https://www.benjaminossa.com/es/projects/eigengrau.

Oiticica, Hélio. Materialisms. Nomadismos Collection, Ediciones Manantial, 2013.

Varela, Francisco. The Phenomenon of Life. J.C. Sáez editor, 2000.

“Visible Light,” NASA, accessed January 14, 2025, https://science.nasa.gov/ems/09_visiblelight/.