respire, contemple, toque, siente, abrace
A public art intervention commissioned for the I Bienal Internacional de Arte al Aire Libre (First International Open Air Biennial), Caracas, Venezuela, respire, contemple, toque, siente, abrace (breathe, gaze, touch, feel, embrace) emerged from research concerning the environmental conditions of Caracas, a city of 10,000,000 inhabitants topographically situated at the bottom of a “bowl” of land surrounded by mountains. The urban air is very polluted, but the city has many trees which help ameliorate air quality.
The project, consisting of 50 signed and dated posters made from digital photographs of urban trees plus text, drew attention to Caracas’ green spaces and to give a kind of “gift” of mediated nature to the city’s people.
All 50 posters were publicly “installed” in subway stations, on the walls of commercial buildings, and elsewhere in urban neighborhoods in the hope that they would be appropriated by the city’s people. In the end, the posters remained in place for about 24 hours before they all disappeared.