FEDERICO URIBE Human Nature
The Chelsea Art Museum
May 15– August 18, 2007
FEDERICO URIBE ©
Photos courtesy of FEDERICO URIBE
Lets deliberate the artist Federico Uribe’s latest muse - shoes. How many pairs would it take to create an urban life sized jungle? His transformation of this basic human staple included more than 1,700 pairs with over 35,000 shoelaces to beautifully craft a magical rainforest filled with animals at The Chelsea Art Museum.
FEDERICO URIBE ©
Photos courtesy of FEDERICO URIBE
Sponsored by PUMA, Uribe was able to finds consolation in his craftsmanship by implementing a message much deeper than anyone else can find in these trendy sneakers. Being born in Colombia, a country where almost 60% of the land mass is a rainforest yet has been at war for almost half a century, his reconciliation with life has been a pursuit of happiness for his audience.
FEDERICO URIBE ©
Photos courtesy of FEDERICO URIBE
Joy, beauty and love become parts of his implementation. “If a sculpture makes viewers smile” says Uribe, “or compels them to want to touch it, then, I believe, it becomes a permanent and amiable memory which generates affection and love.” Attendees at his show were posing with his wildlife creations for their cameras, and smiles were ever present in this colorful and vivid exhibition.
FEDERICO URIBE ©
Photos courtesy of FEDERICO URIBE
There is however a darker side to his message. The title of his exhibit “Human Nature” correlates to the destruction of the environment and the vicious cycle of the natural world being replaced with the artificial by means of humans and the detrimental desire for ownership. Animals are killed to make shoes, the shoes were “killed” to make the animals.
By Monica Mejia
Photos courtesy of FEDERICO URIBE © 2007 and the The Chelsea Art Museum
