(Barcelona, Spain)
A Leaf Shapes the Eye is Daniel Steegmann Mangrané’s first retrospective, which brings together works that span twenty-five years. A choreography between space, light, objects, and people, the exhibition at Macba, in Spain, is an invitation to engage physically, sensorially and intellectually, and to reshape our relationship with nature. Curated by Hiuwai Chu and João Laia with the assistance of Piia Oksanen, the exhibition is a co-production with the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, where it was presented earlier in 2023. It will be presented at Macba until May 20th, 2024.
Drawing upon biology and new anthropological discourses as conceptual frameworks, Steegmann Mangrané proposes a holistic worldview in which there is no distinction between humans and their environment, and where relationships between all elements are in constant flux. His work questions the colonial dualisms such as culture and nature, subject and object, reality and dream, while also engaging with the subjectivity and social agency of non-humans and non-living elements.
Having lived in Rio de Janeiro for two decades, Steegmann Mangrané understands the rainforest as more than just a place, but as a living being that embodies the complexities of our contemporary world, whether they be environmental, political, or social, and serves as a metaphor for the delicate balance and interconnectedness of all things. Climate change further reminds us that we are all part of the same organism and entangled within a complex network of relationships of mutual transformation.
A Leaf Shapes the Eye, with Daniel Steegmann Mangrané
Curated by Hiuwai Chu and João Laia with the assistance of Piia Oksanen
November 16, 2023 – May 20, 2024
MACBA
Plaça dels Àngels, 1, 08001 Barcelona