Miguel Ángel Calderón

'The oblivion of mirrors' (El olvido de los espejos) is an audiovisual project set in the Peruvian Amazon, more specifically in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. There are two parts to the project: a video with 3D animations and a series of digitally enhanced photographs. By means of an immersive audiovisual experience and a surreal connection between the past and the present, together, the two parts propose a journey through the Peruvian jungle that invites us to reflect on how the region has been historically forgotten and how we tend to see this space as alien.

Shot from a first-person perspective, without any dialogue and guided only by the sounds of nature, the video explores the jungle from dawn to dusk. This journey through waterways and dense vegetation offers us the opportunity to rediscover the origins of our biodiversity and to see what we humans have done to it. Through a sensorial and intimate experience, the jungle is unveiled as a space for personal and social re-evaluation. The photographs, on the other hand, have been enhanced with 3D models that represent the stormy past that was triggered by rubber fever. These images propose a visual language based on the contrast between the natural and the artificial, and reflect on a past (and a present) of exploitation.

Miguel Ángel Calderón (Madrid, 1994) is a visual artist and filmmaker. Raised in both Spain and Peru, he then moved to the USA to study at the University of Kansas. After taking a degree in computer engineering, he obtained a B.A. in Fine Arts. He currently lives and works in Madrid.

His work seeks to question our belief mechanisms while also creating an unsettling, surreal and immersive experience. His videos, animations and performance art pieces have been presented in exhibitions, cultural centres and film festivals in New York, Madrid, Sao Paulo, Moscow, Chicago and Calcutta, among others.