Artist: Nicolás Laiz Placeres
Curated by: Fernando Gómez de la Cuesta and Avelino Sala
The work of Nicolás Laiz Placeres (Lanzarote, 1975) revolves around the idea of landscape as a cultural construction, and of the frictions that arise between economic development and ecology. In his work, there is a permanent dialogue between the initial concept and subsequent realization of the piece. This dialogue is explored in the Ídolo de Tara series, 2017, comprised of fifty-five figures made of transparent resin enclosing recycled plastic waste collected by the artist on the beaches of Lanzarote. With these figures, the artist emulates the shape of 'the idol of Tara', a piece of aboriginal Canarian pre-Hispanic history, but in a form more suggestive of a tourist's souvenir. This contrast presents a dialogue between the past and the present, touching on the economic reality of tourism as a productive industry while invoking questions about its relationships with our present and history. The repetition throughout this series is used to reflect modern elements of mass production, and is reminiscent of minimalism, however, the artist created each unique piece to differ from the rest.
