Helena Ospina Lizarralde

One Stitch per Second

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Exhibition from April 5th - April 20th, 2024

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"One Stitch per Second," is an exhibition that delves into the intricate relationship between time productivity, manual labor and the pace of the modern city. Through the lens of artist Helena Ospina, this exhibition invites to question the value of time, the nature of work, and the impact of accelerated living in our society.

 

A setting of the modern city is created through the various works presented and the hands as a metaphor to address the topic take the center stage. Shiny objects of desire that are watched from outside a vitrine, a ticking time clock that reminiscences the automatization of work at a factory, what the city’s pavement holds after 6pm and at the heart of the exhibition lies Ospina's personal reflection on the role of her own hands as tools of labor. Through a durational process of self-surveillance, she explores her productivity in dialogue to the relentless tempo of the modern city, where every second counts and efficiency is paramount.

 

Moving beyond the individual, "One stitch per second" broadens its focus to examine broader issues surrounding art production and labor rights. It raises critical questions about the pace of work in an increasingly globalized world, where the pressure to keep up with a rapid rhythm often clashes with the inherent need for contemplation and reflection in the creative process.

 

Throughout the exhibition, works that embody the tension between acceleration and pause will be encountered, and participatory installation invites viewers to ponder their own relationship with time and labor. Being an artist sometimes requires walking contra current in an age of constant motion, how does the perceived value of time affect the way we prioritize and allocate labor in contemporary society?

 

"One Stitch Per Second" is an invitation to pause, to contemplate, and to engage in dialogue about the fundamental questions that shape our understanding of productivity and time in the modern world. 

 

 

Helena Ospina Lizarralde is an artist from Colombia currently based in Berlin. Ospina Lizarralde’s practice stands at the intersection between art and philosophy, her work raises questions with aims to understand the subtle relationship between time and space that contribute to raising awareness of our own existence. She works across different media including ceramics, weaving, video, performance and installation.

 

A key aspect of Ospina Lizarralde’s research method is building a horizontal field of discussion through participative and public space projects. Her artistic language then shifts between poetic gestures, processual work and long-term actions that enable her to grasp more closely abstract concepts of time. The most essential part of Ospina Lizarralde’s practice is to generate spaces to interrogate what seems to be unanswerable in order to further comprehend our presence.