Martínez Bellido

A Speck on the Lens is a project that explores the imaginative potential of the devices we use to observe nature.  Through optical experiments with the components of telescopes, binoculars, and microscopes, the project generates luminous traces recorded onto photosensitive surfaces. Through this anomalous use, the project proposes a search for seemingly natural patterns within the technical devices that mediate our relationship with the world, prompting a reflection on perception, technique, and imagination. By liberating all these instruments from their original reproductive function, the artist is able to employ them as autonomous image-generating devices.

Biography

In his work, Martínez Bellido (Cádiz, 1992) explores the materiality of photography by experimenting with the media, processes, and technical devices that create it, thus placing the objectivity of technique in dialogue with the speculative role of the imagination His work has featured in group exhibitions including An Unbridgeable Distance (Una distancia insalvable), The Cerezales Antonino y Cinia Foundation (León); Ultraphotography (Ultrafotografía), Casal Solleric (Palma de Mallorca); Omnimode (Omnímoda), MUCAC (Málaga); Lies and wonders (Embustes y maravillas), Casa de Iberoamérica (Cádiz); Calculation Error (Error de cálculo), Rafael Botí Foundation (Córdoba), and Among the Shapes that Go towards the Serpent and Those that Seek the Crystal (Entre las formas que van hacia la sierpe y las que buscan el cristal), CAAC (Seville). Some of his most notable solo exhibitions include Inhabiting Darkness, Entering the Labyrinth (Habitar la oscuridad, adentrarse en el laberinto), Espacio OTR; I Close my Eyes in the Dark (Aprieto los ojos en la oscuridad), Luis Adelantado Gallery, and The Obscure Rigour of Light, Scan Projects (London).

Martínez Bellido is a recipient of the 2026 Three-month residencies for visual artists.