FLAKES | COPOS: _______ A Keystone in Socioplastics

FLAKES —or COPOS in Spanish— is not merely a video series but a keystone within the broader socioplastic methodology, crystallizing multiple layers of well-being, memory, reality, and documentary form into a continuous practice of urban inscription. Rooted in the principle that the city is a living conservatory, FLAKES treats everyday gestures—walking, waiting, listening, drifting—not as marginal events but as central sculptural acts within a distributed aesthetic field. Each numbered entry, often tied to a location (Mexico City, Madrid, Marseille, London), operates simultaneously as cinematic fragment and ethnographic trace, transforming urban flux into a malleable medium for reflection, resistance, and poetic observation. The significance of FLAKES lies in its temporal accumulation: over 600 entries since 2008 form not a documentary archive in the conventional sense, but a situational cosmology, where each episode acts as a living pixel in the construction of urban memory. This methodology does not seek monumental representation, but rather a micro-political attention to the ephemeral, where street food (COPOS 436), public registration (COPOS 439), or wedding aesthetics (COPOS 443) become scenes of social plasticity. The act of filming, much like editing or walking, becomes a form of ritual materiality—a way of producing care and significance through repetition and context. Through this, FLAKES enacts Lefebvre’s Right to the City, turning urban rights into lived, documented experiences. Its layers—filmic, poetic, political—reveal the city not as fixed infrastructure, but as cinematic matter, edited through movement, memory, and relation. As a keystone, FLAKES holds together the theoretical and the tactile dimensions of socioplastics, sustaining an ecology where artistic attention itself becomes a form of life-making.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=COPOS+TOMOTO+LAPIEZA

https://antolloveras.blogspot.com/2024/10/copos.html

DECONSTRUCTING AN EXPLICIT CONTEXT____________________ESSAY

Deconstructing an explicit content.

Recycled materials.

TERRITORIES ARE BATTLEFIELDS - Each piece of land, regardless of its size, is a possible setting for the staging of political reflection on the forms of social production and its multiple significant layers. The landscape is a metaphor for today's society. 

THE LIFE OF OBJECTS - The duo was invited in 2018 to present an idea in a forest in Sweden as part of a series of actions in a rural environment. As in most of his recent commissions, the purpose of the works commissioned was to provide an invitation to reflect on the idea of landscape itself, and the evolving and mutating condition of nature. The installation created by Bobrikova and de Carmen existed as a collection of objects and furniture, rescued from a nearby clean point, and then distributed in a meadow next to a forest. 

LANDSCAPE AS THEATER - The place was an apparently innocuous landscape with generic properties of quasi-natural beauty. The initial action of compiling objects was a harvest of local household objects already considered obsolete by fast and furious post-fordian consumers. The first action of this work is, therefore, a political one: an action of reuse and resignification of objects as a second nature with the idea of generating a visual delight from the mundane. The second action is a careful staging through the insurgency of ready-mades as installation. The landscape becomes a mimetic exhibition and therefore a metaphor for all landscapes. 

THE BIOETHICAL THOUGHT - The artists Bobrikova and De Carmen have been working on the social-political scene for more than a decade, and in Deconstructing an Explicit Content they set in motion a machinery of thought to reveal certain forms of capital in relation to the idea of landscape and territory. They also simultaneously invite us to consider how to channel our behavior under the guidance of ethical thinking and the necessary redefinition of the concepts of development, progress, technology, culture, humanity, and social being. The ideas presented within the work bring us closer to the reflections of Felix Guattari's ecosophical theory. The ingredients of a polyhedral work. 

STILL LIFE  - Once the objects were set in the landscape, their relationship with the social environment was activated in the form of reflective thinking. What are those objects? Why are there objects in nature? Who is placing objects coming from production surplus and immediate obsolescence within nature? Who is throwing away those usable objects without any guilt? Who has no concern whatsoever on the overall disposal of objects that took so much energy to produce? Who is threatening the natural world by exhausting our natural resources? These questions we may place when considering any given piece of land. A new nature is defined. Landscapes nowadays live with objects, and those objects may bring some trouble. Are these landscapes still nature? The romantic garden described by Kant, and then Burke, has been transformed. 

THE ACTS - The piece has its official opening: locals came and saw a lot of random objects in the forest. Some smile and others say nothing. It is remarkable, someone says. Night comes, and as in every town and in every forest, the wild walks around and plays. With the morning sunrise, the elegant installation has already been destroyed. Objects have been moved, some have been stolen, and the function of the artwork has been activated. The process has started, and more questions are asked; Who has destroyed the art? Who has destroyed nature? 

THE ATTITUDE - Most audiences are completely unaware of how to handle the life of objects. Objects may look like junk, and they also may be junk, while still having a life as a part of the new natural condition. Postproduction is a symbolic field that allows the artist to animate objects, reorder them and generate meaning. Behaviors are not judged, we read the facts. The artists placed external objects in the forest. The invisible actors played at night, expanding the conceptual layer of the artwork and helping us to understand what is happening in and with the territory. The territory is an idea as well as the object left behind. The landscape is also left behind. The trigger. A mine in your backyard. The entire play is about fascination, what environmental psychology studies as awe. 

THE SOCIAL POLITICAL FIELD - The action-installation is thus integrated into both the physical and the social territory, turning the landscape into a post-landscape. The mere act of deviating the trajectory of objects is a political act and, therefore, an organic way of approaching the idea of art, a subtle discourse, with complex and profound reflections on the ethics and aesthetics of the work itself, subverting logical fact and entering the poetics of art. The action can be seen both as a fascinating metaphor on global consumerism, the misuse of beauty and also as a pile of junk. Both are true. The work raises several questions, both formally and aesthetically and each has multiple answers according to the analyst's point of view. 

ECOSOPHICAL MOTIVATIONS - By confronting the idea of what is natural and what is unnatural, this piece by Bobrikova and De Carmen makes us ask ourselves whether leaving a normal chain of anonymous objects in a beautiful Swedish landscape is a metaphor of our daily actions on a boundless canvas. We must activate questions about the ethical-political as well as the necessary transformations of the tensions resulting from this global crisis, looking at energies and feelings, while also eliminating galloping consumerism. The work seems to be a minimalist transdisciplinary opera in the search of the wisdom to lead us towards a non-binary harmonious coexistence. We are pushed to rethink the relationship we have with damaged landscapes. This short opera may be an inquiry among the psychological, the social, and the environmental, a part of the evolution towards a new model, where we become aware of the antagonistic, yet symbiotic, relationship between society and nature.

ESSAY BY ANTO LLOVERAS /

RECREO 2020 /

Threads of Meaning ______ The Emotional, Political, and Healing Power of Contemporary Textile Art

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV_csJUHbmU&t=26s

Textile and Fiber Art: Tradition, Emotion, and Activism.

Textiles have long been seen as utilitarian objects, linked to everyday life through clothing, shelter, and domesticity. However, textile and fiber art has transcended its functional origins, becoming a potent medium for emotional expression, storytelling, and activism. This article explores how contemporary textile artists and curators are using fibers, threads, and fabrics to address a broad range of issues, from personal narratives to global concerns. Through examining the presentations of various panelists at an international textile art event, we discover the versatility and intensity of textile art, encompassing emotions, family histories, political discourses, and even the healing arts.

Textile and fiber art, historically rooted in tradition, has evolved into a versatile and dynamic medium that addresses a wide range of contemporary issues. This brief essay reflects on the various approaches and narratives presented by textile artists and curatorsnternational panel curated by Lala De Dios for the Guimarães Biennial, where the multifaceted roles of textiles in conveying emotions, telling personal and collective stories, interacting with politics, and functioning as a therapeutic medium were explored. The panelists, from different cultural backgrounds and artistic visions, highlighted the intensity of textile art in exposing topics such as motherhood, memory, sustainability, activism, and healing. The conclusion emphasizes the unique ability of textiles to connect touch with thought, craftsmanship with concept, and the personal with the political, positioning textile art as a powerful tool for both creative expression and social change.

Emotions and Personal Narratives: The Intimacy of Textiles. One of the most emotional presentations was that of Barbara Long, from Spain and the UK. Her project The Making of Mother Material is a tribute to her mother, exploring the emotional bond between mothers and daughters through textile art. Using fabrics, Long captures the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, demonstrating how textiles can communicate deep, personal emotions. Meghan Price, from Canada, presented Soft Rock, a work that fuses textiles with geological elements to explore the concept of deep time. Price invites the viewer to reflect on how natural materials and textures can connect with emotional and historical narratives, blending nature and human experience in a singular work.

Politics and Activism: Threads of Social Change. 

Textiles are not only personal but deeply political. Historically, they have been used as symbols of power, commerce, and oppression, and contemporary artists are reclaiming this medium to address social and political issues. Transcending Threads by Dominika Krogulska-Czekalska explores post-textile discourse in activism, examining how textiles can be used to challenge social norms and advocate for change. In her work, fibers become tools of resistance, intertwining personal expression with collective action. The versatility of textiles also extends to sustainability, as seen in Anto Lloveras' project Re-(t)exHile, which explores textile architecture and sustainable fashion in Africa. Lloveras' work highlights the environmental impact of textile production and consumption, advocating for more conscious approaches to design and material use. This political dimension of textile art underscores the responsibility of artists to address urgent global issues through .

 

Memory and Collective Stories: Weaving the Past into the Present.

Textiles are also vehicles of memory, carrying with them traces of the past. The work of Esther Grau Quintana as co-curator of the Josep Grau-Garriga exhibition highlights this connection, focusing on how memory is woven into the fabrics of his tapestries. Through tactile materials, Grau-Garriga evokes personal and collective stories that shape identity and culture, illustrating how textiles can act as a material archive of human experience. Zala Orel, with her exploration The Story of a String and a Stone, delves into the historical significance of textiles, linking ancient practices with contemporary artistic narratives. Textiles, through their tactile qualities, offer a tangible connection to the past, reminding us of the hands that wove them, the stories they tell, and the cultures they represent. This intersection between past and present in textile art allows for reflection on continuity and change, making textiles a medium that bridges generations.

Healing and Therapy: The Soothing Power of Textiles. 

One of the most profound aspects of textile art is its therapeutic potential. Brigida Ribeiros' exploration of Therapeutic Textiles reveals the healing properties of gauze, a fabric often associated with medical care. Ribeiros demonstrates how textiles, through their softness and flexibility, can promote healing, both physical and emotional. Her work emphasizes the role of textiles as mediators of touch, where the act of weaving, sewing, or wrapping becomes a form of care. Laurita Siles' Mutur Beltz project advocates for a form of textile art that not only heals people but also the planet.

Textile and fiber art, through its versatility and intensity, opens a space for diverse forms of expression, ranging from deeply personal emotions to broad political activism. The presentations by these international artists and curators demonstrate how textiles can be used to convey complex narratives, connect past and present, and address both individual and collective experiences. The tactile nature of textiles makes them particularly suited to exploring themes of care, memory, and healing, while their cultural and historical significance gives them a powerful political charge. Whether used to reflect on personal experiences like motherhood or to challenge social structures, textile art provides a rich, multifaceted medium through which stories are told, emotions are felt, and change is created. In conclusion, textile art is not simply a decorative or utilitarian craft; it is a profound mode of artistic expression that has the power to connect touch with thought, craftsmanship with concept, and the personal with the political. Through their work, these artists demonstrate the enduring relevance of textile art in contemporary discourse, making it a vital tool for creative exploration and social change.

Guimaraes, September 2024

https://antolloveras.blogspot.com/2024/08/contextile-art-biennial-2024-presents.html?m=0

SOCIOPLASTICS

There has been a growing focus of interest in relational and intersubjective processes within different contexts. Psychology, sociology, biology or neuroscience, among other disciplines, cease to focus on the specific entities that were conventionally defined as individuals, to become interested in the fluid network of relationships in which they are inserted. Art is also no stranger to this paradigm shift that involves shifting the boundaries of the hitherto narrow concept of the individual, to include in it the relationships it establishes. The artistic object has been raised for many years as interacting with the different subjects that surround it and even immersed in its own network of significant relationships. In this sense, a whole theory has been developed that focuses more on the reception of the work of art than on its production. But still, the differences between work-object, subject-producer and subject-receiver have been maintained. In the last 10-20 years, however, and in close relationship with so many factors that it is impossible to analyze them in this space, there is a type of artistic representation that also seeks to erase these limits, proposing a type of art that consists precisely in the relationship.

If some kind of artistic object is generated in the event of this relationship, it will also form part of the relationship and the work, further enriching the relational network, but the mere production of objects is not in itself the purpose. A characteristic of this type of relational art is the concern generated by the perception of the general impoverishment of the relational sphere mediated by globalization and the forms of relations imposed. It is not a question of preferring archaic or obsolete forms of relationship over technological innovations in this area, but rather of resistance to the forced reduction of the repertoire. From these perspectives it is understood that the dismantling of some relational modes is due to interests that intend to dismantle the social generative capacity, so that potentially transformative relationships are replaced by comfortable relationships, without conflicts and uncritical. Many proposals of relational art, therefore, by promoting a reestablishment of relational repertoires that lead to the generation of social changes, even at the microlocal level, reactivate movements at the neighborhood and neighborhood level with a view to recovering all their transformative potential.

In the neighborhood of Malasaña an intense relational activity is taking place that unfolds from the LAPIEZA space on Palma 15. On previous occasions we have referred to this space in the neighborhood as one of the most dynamic in relation to the genesis of ecologies cultural. It may be necessary to explain something about how this site works. It is a room that, as the name implies, presents a “piece” constituted from the contributions that different people make. This piece is transformed, in parallel to the relationship that is established within the space. But in addition, the relational field meets the street, in periodic cultural-relational activities such as Palma Central, an event that brings together various cultural entities of Palma Street once a month.But let's go back to LAPIEZA. There, through periodic "mutations", the whole of the installation (formed, remember, by the contributions of various producers) is transformed at an increasing rate through accumulation strategies and what N. Borriaud calls semi-nautical. Semi-nautical is the process by which new communication channels are established between signs of different types. From this perspective, art in LAPIEZA ceases to be a process of generating objects to become an activity dedicated to establishing new connections and senses between the different signs that surround us. 

Given that LAPIEZA defines itself with a “socioplastic” vocation and as a space dedicated to Junk Art, it is evident that the new connections and senses that are generated in its field tend to try to make social processes conscious and intervene on them, for which they are used strategies such as performance and various activities that could be framed in procedural art, but also do not give up the socio-plastic manifestation in the form of video, installation or even seemingly more traditional forms such as painting or sculpture. When this is the case, the elaboration from pre-existing objects is privileged, and not due to a superficially ecological recycling vocation, but in the context of the semi-nautical described, as a way of reintroducing prematurely discarded signs in the sense circuits that retain significant power for the elaboration of diverse narratives.

It is obvious, therefore, that in this process objects are generated, but its main mission will be to serve as a link or exchange station between signs that were previously isolated, The relational socioplastic that promotes LAPIEZA is not restricted to a single spatial scope such as the events organized in the room. They are not even limited to the space of Palma Street in the context of the Palma Central cultural event. They expand throughout the neighborhood of Malasaña and surrounding areas in synergies between different environments, and also occupy virtual spaces such as the relational community created in the social network Facebook, or the blogosphere through the blog lapiece cleaning and all the ramifications that start from them. We hope that in this new season that opens, LAPIEZA will continue to contribute to the enrichment of the relational sphere and its socio-plastic transformation, from the Malasaña neighborhood to the entire globalized world.