Gabriel Esteban Molina, NGC 4366, digital photograph, 2021. Courtesy of the artist.
LIQUID CRYSTALS | GABRIEL ESTEBAN MOLINA
25.09.2021 to 14.11.2021
Opening Reception | September 25 at 7 PM
In his 1904 paper Flüssige Kristalle, German physicist Otto Lehman first described the liquid, flowing crystals which occupy a state of matter between conventional liquids and solid crystals. Mechanically, liquid crystals behave as a fluid but contain the optical properties of solid crystals, causing the polarization of light that would become the basis for LCD technology. At a basic level, Gabriel Esteban Molina captures the fluidity and reflectivity of organic materials in their technological applications. His works continually reflect on the psychological, social, and spiritual values attributed to the patterns of digital screens.
Arranging his camera in front of TVs and computer monitors, Molina records the unperceived micro-abstractions present in digital screens. The attraction to even the simplest of Molina’s repeating patterns of digital stimuli subverts the instant allure to digital screens. The immediate attraction to the rich colour and shifting patterns of these abstractions-in-process induces a hypnotic effect that keeps us watching. Screens are engrossing and Molina reveals our willingness to enter into the hypnotic state induced by the two-dimensional surface. Much like the Modern painters who intentionally revealed their brushstrokes and flattened the perspectival window of painting, Molina’s images call attention to the limits and almost magical abilities of the mesmerizing surface.
In considering the SAAG’s library space, Molina imagined the bookshelves as containers similar to CRT TVs, building mirror boxes to house videos and photos, enhancing their hypnotic effects. Molina also includes videos and photos taken of natural subjects like water and the substrates within that produce a similarly hypnotic and illusory depth. Molina’s vinyl mural on the window of the library makes the most direct connection between screens and spirituality by connoting the cloisonné forms and illuminated colour of stained glass. Even the notion of hypnotic crystals supposes a form of New Age spirituality that imbues minerals, whether inside of a screen or not, with magical properties.
Curated by Adam Whitford, Interim Curator
SAAG Art Library Project: Begun in 2020, the SAAG presents exhibitions as in-situ interventions within our Art Library. The Art Library Project features a diverse selection of artworks and mediums from regional contemporary artists. Artists are invited to think of the library as a unique exhibition context by investigating the SAAG’s programming around readership, publications, and its place within Lethbridge’s historic Carnegie library which opened in 1922. Artists are encouraged to consider the physical architecture of the library and its material holdings, responding to a broader and generative idea of what a library might be, as they change and adapt to new forms of knowledge production.
Gabriel Esteban Molina is a visual artist from Edmonton, Alberta who graduated from the University of Alberta in 2013 with a BFA in Fine Arts. In 2015, he completed his Masters of Art in Fine Art at the Chelsea College of Arts in London, United Kingdom. His practice is concerned with the influence of technology on our perception and relationship to the natural world. His work walks the line between analog and digital, incorporating a variety of old and new media including sculpture, photography, video, and installation. He has had numerous exhibitions in Edmonton and London, including a solo at Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix in London and a collaboration with Kyle Terrence for his film ‘Berta Boys”. He recently finished a residency at ArtsIceland with a solo show at Outvert Art Space in Ísafjörður, and presented new video work at the Art Gallery of Alberta in The Scene.
This exhibition was made possible with funding assistance from the Canada Council for the Arts, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the City of Lethbridge, and the Edmonton Arts Council.
