Manhã no Ano do Coelho, Cadu’s first solo show at Vermelho, featured a set of six artworks created from 2010 onward. With the exception of Ixodidae, an installation that was part of the exhibition Convivências held by Fundação Iberê Camargo (Rio Grande do Sul), in 2010, this was the first time that these works were publicly shown.
Born in 1977, Cadu has created an oeuvre that deals with radical processes and systems that in various cases involve his own body and his daily routines. In Doze Meses [Twelve Months] (2005), for example, the artist manipulated his monthly power consumption in order to create an arc in the graph on his electric bill, which evokes a sense of perspective. The process was begun in April 2004 and ended in April 2005. Ironic and delicate, Doze Meses reveals the prosaic representation of an enormous physical force that transformed the artist’s routine throughout an entire year.
Ixodidae (2010), a scientific term for a tick, in a certain sense duplicates the action of the parasite from which it borrows its title. In the installation, a motion-detecting control box was connected to twelve electric hammers that are activated based on the viewer’s presence. Arranged throughout the exhibition space, when the electric hammers are activated, they damage the walls and the floor according to the number of observers and the length of their stay [thanks to Marcel Kowalski].
An artwork created in partnership with British artist Tim Knowles, Windcompass (2011) is part of the Weather Exchange project which was awarded a commission from the arts-encouragement program sponsored by the British Council and i-Dat, entitled CO-OS. Printed on cotton paper, the paintings present the eolic measurements (wind speed and direction) taken each hour by Heathrow Airport, in London, throughout the year 2010. The result is an agglomeration of arrows with colors, directions and sizes corresponding to the eolic variations, organized as a calendar [thanks to Simon Lock].
Nantucket Island (2010–2011), a series of large- and medium-format oil-on-paper drawings, makes reference to Nantucket Island, from which the Pequod departed in search of the white whale in the book Moby Dick by Herman Melville. The title lends continuity to the series of drawings made by Cadu in 2009, entitled Barbican (a historic district in the city of Plymouth, United Kingdom) in which the relation between the coast and the continent is explored through the representation of figure and background.
To create Ás de Espadas [Ace of Spades] (2011), Cadu built five different airplane models whose parts were laser-cut from playing cards, assembled, and displayed atop the same cards. There is a model for each of the four suits and one for the jokers. The airplanes are divided into two groups – red deck/blue deck – and arranged face to face on two wooden tables. In a further artwork, Partitura [Musical Score] (2010), Cadu has arranged bottles, jars, cups and other utensils along a model train track. Rods projecting from the train cars strike these items, producing notes that are part of the musical composition.
Pégaso [Pegasus] (2011) consists of four small robotic mechanisms attached to the wall, each with fingerlike extremities with tufts of hair at their tips, obtained from the manes of racehorses at the Rio de Janeiro horseracing track. The piece reacts to the approach of the viewer with movements that resemble caresses. The name of this hybrid structure refers to the Greek myth in which Perseus cuts off Medusa’s head and drags her blood through the sea off the coast of Ethiopia, where he saved and married the Princess Andromeda and witnessed the rise of two fantastic features: a huge winged horse and the giant Chrysaor.
Ixodidae (2010/2011), the scientific term for tick, repeats, in a way, the action of the parasite from which it borrows its title. In the installation, a presence-sensitive control box was connected to 12 electric hammers that are activated when the observer is present. Arranged throughout the exhibition space, the hammers, when activated, damage the walls and the floor according to how long the observer stays in the exhibition space [thanks to Marcel Kowalski].
Manhã no Ano do Coelho, Cadu’s first solo show at Vermelho, featured a set of six artworks created from 2010 onward. With the exception of Ixodidae, an installation that was part of the exhibition Convivências held by Fundação Iberê Camargo (Rio Grande do Sul), in 2010, this was the first time that these works were publicly shown.
Born in 1977, Cadu has created an oeuvre that deals with radical processes and systems that in various cases involve his own body and his daily routines. In Doze Meses [Twelve Months] (2005), for example, the artist manipulated his monthly power consumption in order to create an arc in the graph on his electric bill, which evokes a sense of perspective. The process was begun in April 2004 and ended in April 2005. Ironic and delicate, Doze Meses reveals the prosaic representation of an enormous physical force that transformed the artist’s routine throughout an entire year.
Ixodidae (2010), a scientific term for a tick, in a certain sense duplicates the action of the parasite from which it borrows its title. In the installation, a motion-detecting control box was connected to twelve electric hammers that are activated based on the viewer’s presence. Arranged throughout the exhibition space, when the electric hammers are activated, they damage the walls and the floor according to the number of observers and the length of their stay [thanks to Marcel Kowalski].
An artwork created in partnership with British artist Tim Knowles, Windcompass (2011) is part of the Weather Exchange project which was awarded a commission from the arts-encouragement program sponsored by the British Council and i-Dat, entitled CO-OS. Printed on cotton paper, the paintings present the eolic measurements (wind speed and direction) taken each hour by Heathrow Airport, in London, throughout the year 2010. The result is an agglomeration of arrows with colors, directions and sizes corresponding to the eolic variations, organized as a calendar [thanks to Simon Lock].
Nantucket Island (2010–2011), a series of large- and medium-format oil-on-paper drawings, makes reference to Nantucket Island, from which the Pequod departed in search of the white whale in the book Moby Dick by Herman Melville. The title lends continuity to the series of drawings made by Cadu in 2009, entitled Barbican (a historic district in the city of Plymouth, United Kingdom) in which the relation between the coast and the continent is explored through the representation of figure and background.
To create Ás de Espadas [Ace of Spades] (2011), Cadu built five different airplane models whose parts were laser-cut from playing cards, assembled, and displayed atop the same cards. There is a model for each of the four suits and one for the jokers. The airplanes are divided into two groups – red deck/blue deck – and arranged face to face on two wooden tables. In a further artwork, Partitura [Musical Score] (2010), Cadu has arranged bottles, jars, cups and other utensils along a model train track. Rods projecting from the train cars strike these items, producing notes that are part of the musical composition.
Pégaso [Pegasus] (2011) consists of four small robotic mechanisms attached to the wall, each with fingerlike extremities with tufts of hair at their tips, obtained from the manes of racehorses at the Rio de Janeiro horseracing track. The piece reacts to the approach of the viewer with movements that resemble caresses. The name of this hybrid structure refers to the Greek myth in which Perseus cuts off Medusa’s head and drags her blood through the sea off the coast of Ethiopia, where he saved and married the Princess Andromeda and witnessed the rise of two fantastic features: a huge winged horse and the giant Chrysaor.
Ixodidae (2010/2011), the scientific term for tick, repeats, in a way, the action of the parasite from which it borrows its title. In the installation, a presence-sensitive control box was connected to 12 electric hammers that are activated when the observer is present. Arranged throughout the exhibition space, the hammers, when activated, damage the walls and the floor according to how long the observer stays in the exhibition space [thanks to Marcel Kowalski].
