Butterfly Effect

Athens, Greece | Part of the Butterfly Effect exhibition organized by artefact athens

An installation of hanging mirrors and porcelain bells all laser cut/molded out of the same shape – a small heavy cylindrical object that was used as a door stop in my grandparents home in Costa Rica. This object, I discovered later, was made by my grandfather when he worked as a mechanic in the National Distillery Factory in the 1940’s. It was originally used as a counterweight when measuring ingredients that would go into the creation of distilled spirits such as wine, beer and liquors. This object becomes the focus of my exploration into my past. A past that is splintered due to my families’ immigration from Costa Rica to the United States.

The installation is kinetic – objects are hanging from the ceiling from threads. The magnetized mirrors give back fragmented images of their surroundings while the bells softly chime. The ghostly, muted sounds along with the fragmented images serve as a metaphor to the memories and echos of an immigrant’s past. The nearly invisible thread is all that connects the objects to one another and to the space. This is the thread I am also counting on to weave together my history.

Butterfly Effect exhibition