The Relational Topology of EL DORADO * Gold as Shared Gesture within the Hipervínculos Network (2013)

EL DORADO represents a radical inversion of the myth of extraction. Conceived in the summer of 2003 upon Lloveras’s return from a six-month immersion in Mexico City, this intervention replaces the colonial fantasy of gold with a "sculpture of survival." The material—a single, ultra-light golden emergency blanket (typically used to shield bodies in distress)—is displaced from its utilitarian context to become a migratory sculptural skin. Weighing only twenty grams, the object functions as a "positional fixator" that is passed from body to body, resisting the static monumentality of traditional art in favor of a shared, performative circulation. This work marks the genesis of a decade-long series of "Light Interventions" (including the white and gray meshes of Provence), where the sculpture is not an addition to the space, but a "rhetorical device" that takes shape through human contact. Within the HIPERVÍNCULOS network, EL DORADO operates as a living loop. Each participant—from Toño Camuñas to Maite Cajaraville—does not receive a copy, but the original object, which is re-sculpted by their posture, mood, and presence. The gold here is not found or stolen; it is offered, creating a temporary fold of care and intimacy in the urban lodazal. Conceptually, the project deconstructs the weight of the artistic link. By using a material so thin it borders on the non-existent, Lloveras proves that "Affection is Fuel." The sculpture is no longer a finished product but a "relational state," a tactile bridge that visualizing the invisible threads of collective agency. In EL DORADO, the value is relocated from the mineral to the gesture, transforming the emergency blanket into a sacred, nomadic archive of the creative community in Madrid.

EL DORADO (Madrid, 2013) constitutes a seminal exploration into the "weight of the bond," manifesting as a migratory socioplastic sculpture that eschews traditional monumentality for a radical, material minimalism. Conceived by Anto Lloveras as an essential node within the broader HIPERVÍNCULOS relational platform, the work utilizes a single, twenty-gram golden emergency blanket that is passed from body to body. This object—charged with the symbolic density of survival and intimacy—is sculpted anew through the specific posture, mood, and presence of each participating artist, including figures such as Maite Cajaraville, Juan Barte, and Monoperro. By deploying a material that is literally and metaphorically "light," Lloveras ensures that the sculpture functions primarily as a gesture, transforming gold from a hidden, extracted myth into a visible, shared "fold of care". The conceptual underpinnings of EL DORADO rely on the inversion of the colonial myth; rather than a sought-after treasure, the "gold" is localized in the city of origin and offered as a temporary relational state. Within the HIPERVÍNCULOS cloud—a network of relational exhibitions and conceptual drifts—the sculpture operates not as a static edition but as a "living rhetorical device". Each artist in the sculptural loop (such as RafaFans, Vic Snake, and Paula Lloveras) is inscribed into a collective imagination where "affection is fuel," displacing the artwork from the physical object into the shared proximity between subjects. This socioplastic approach treats art as an evolving curatorial platform where ephemeral actions and situated sculptures weave together a network of relational states.

The structural logic of the series is defined by several key socio-philosophical tenets: The Shared Original: Participants do not receive a copy but the original object, ensuring a continuous material history and a direct physical link between diverse bodies. Symbolic Reversal: The reversal of "El Dorado" moves from extraction to offering, shifting the narrative focus from conquest to mutual care and visibility. Relational Cloud: As part of the Hipervínculos series, the work exists as one node in a larger cloud of "situated sculptures" and social encounters. Material Frugality: The twenty-gram blanket represents an "anatomy of desire" that prioritizes the lightness of the gesture over the weight of the traditional monument. Ultimately, EL DORADO functions as a "social sculpture" that maps the affective ties within a specific artistic community. It asserts that belonging is formed through these "tactile acts of attachment," where the golden foil acts as a conductor for collective energy. By documenting these encounters through photography, Lloveras fixes the ephemeral position of each participant, contributing to an ongoing meta-documentary on the nature of contemporary proximity. The work remains an essential piece of "socioplastics," proving that even the most fragile materials can support the heaviest of conceptual links.

Lloveras, A. (2013) EL DORADO – Socioplastic Sculpture (Madrid, 2013). [Online] Available at: https://antolloveras.blogspot.com/2013/11/el-dorado-escultura-socioplastica-2013.html [Accessed: 13 January 2026].

Explore Further within the Socioplastic Network: 

The Semiotics of the Cloud: https://antolloveras.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-semiotics-of-cloud-active.html Spanish Bar: https://antolloveras.blogspot.com/2026/01/spanish-bar-fading-ritual-and-living-archive.html Restoran Splendid: https://antolloveras.blogspot.com/2026/01/restoran-splendid-rotational-frames-in.html