TATE Modern - Gabriel Orozco

Chicotes 2010

Orozco has been gathering the remnants of burst tyres from along Mexican highways for years. Brought together in this installation, the scraps of rubber are still imbued with a kind of movement-memory – the rotation of car wheels and the explosion which caused them to be discarded. In elevating debris to the status of sculpture, Orozco once again demands that his viewers reassess their aesthetic responses to humble everyday materials and situations.

When invited to participate in an exhibition, Orozco has often arrived at a gallery empty-handed, creating a work relating to the site and the objects at hand. The materials for Chicotes were imported specially, but Orozco has determined its arrangement in response to the gallery space at Tate Modern.


This work is described as showing the movement memory of the tyres and it is this kind of memory trace that I am showing in my memorial bench work.

Extension of Reflection 1992

Orozco's concern that his works remain active is key to his photographs. These demand engagement in the moment of looking because, as he puts it, 'the event is still happening'. Extension of Reflection is a composition of tree branches reflected in puddles intersecting a circle of wet bicycle tyre tracks. Though the puddles have long since dried out, the photograph continually offers this scene freshly and immediately to viewers. 

 My Hands Are My Heart 1991

For one of his early sculptures Orozco picked up a chunk of clay and pressed it with both hands to give it the form of the space between them. The clearly visible imprint preserves the impromptu moment of creation, what he has described as 'a gesture of spontaneity'. Orozco's use of regular brick factory clay, rather than a specialist sculptor's material, is typical of his penchant for the humble and everyday.

I have included this image because of its similarity to our exhibition poster.

Which reminds me I really must show you all our progress with our exhibition preparation and fundraising - look out for this post.