Laura Fernández Antolín
Interlinking bιοζ is an investigation into the natural and cultural context of the Altamira Cave, carried out in collaboration with Oxel Urra, an environmental scientist and PhD in electrochemistry and materials science. Drawing closer to the absent, to the imperceptible, it gives a voice to the multitude of more than human agents that live in the caves and the surrounding area. These creatures do not appear in the anthropocentric discourses on the cave paintings, and yet they are very much to the fore in numerous scientific investigations. In this way, we speculate on how the isolation of the Altamira Cave is a fictitious boundary and we shed light on the constant exchange between the abundant forms of life found in its interior. In this research, the more than human agents in the Altamira Cave, regarded as colonisers of the paintings, blur the boundaries between the organic and the inorganic, and between the mutualistic, commensalistic and parasitic relationships between biological communities.
One of the key elements of the research is water, which has played a fundamental role in the history of Altamira. It was the original element that led to the formation of the cave, disintegrating the rocks by hydroclastic processes, and it is still fundamental today, given that humidity is one of the key processes in the stabilisation measurements of the cave.
BIO
Laura Fernández Antolín (Valladolid, 1993) carries out a practice that penetrates our bodies and their contexts, exploring the interdependent relationships between human beings and other creatures, whether they are classified as organic or inorganic. She emphasises gentleness as a driving force, and investigates rituals of rest, encounter and celebration. She also creates interconnected scenarios that address our perceptions of (in)conditional hospitality, intimacy, gender, trust and collectivity, advocating the senses and affection to live together. Her performance art working methods often imply collectivity, and her sculptural work for mixed installations includes such media as textiles, biomaterials, aromas, performance art, writing and drawing.
One of the recipients of the 2024 Quarterly Residencies for Projects on the Environment for visual artists at Matadero Madrid’s Centre for Artists in Residence.