Daniel Otero Torres
Amapola
Amapola takes up the image of the poppy plant (Papaver somniferum), from which opium and its derivatives are extracted. The sculptural installation transforms the exhibition space into a field of flowers of exaggerated proportions in which the stems almost extend to the ceiling. The farming of opium poppies has enormous historical connotations that extend to the present day. From the Opium Wars, promoted by the British Empire to maintain its commercial hegemony over China; to the conflicts and violence linked to its illegal production and trafficking in Afghanistan, Southeast Asia or Colombia; to the widespread dependence on opiates promoted by the pharmaceutical industry in Western societies. The installation invites to wander among the suspended pieces, and to metaphorically connect the terrestrial plane of the real with that of the altered states of consciousness, floating towards infinity. The poppy flower is loaded with historical, cultural, and symbolic significance across the globe. This work is the result of an exercise in awareness, reassessment, and perspective, re-presenting history through its images and emblems. Amapola is a re-reading that makes possible the construction of spaces for resistance and new allegories for revolution and liberation.
The multidisciplinary work of Daniel Otero Torres encompasses sculpture, installation, ceramic, drawing and other pictorial practice. The artist is interested in notions of resistance and revolution, as well as ecological concerns, which have become an indissociable element of contemporary activism. Otero Torres pays special attention to the harmful effects of exacerbated capitalism on biodiversity and Indigenous peoples, while questioning the links between nature and global politics. In his artistic practice, Otero Torres has developed a unique technique that explores the frontier between drawing and sculpture. Applying photorealism to monumental cut-out steel structures, the process creates a dislocation of materials and contexts.