This side in — Fer Sucari

This side in
Variable dimensions
2024

This side in
68.9 x 106.3 x 13.8 in
Wood, paint, polyethylene foam, 3D printed plastic, putty, resin
2024

This side in
70.1 x 11.0 x 11.0 in
Wood, paint, electric motor 1 rpm, used work glove, plastic
2024

This side in
71.7 x 15.7 x 17.7 in
Wood, paint, polyethylene foam, refractory bricks, epoxy putty, styrofoam
2024

This side in
59.1 x 19.7 x 23.6 in
Wood, polyurethane foam, refractory bricks, polyethylene foam, epoxy putty, paint
2024

This side in
70.9 x 21.7 x 25.6 in
Wood, polyethylene foam, epoxy putty, paint, resin, metal nail
2024

In This Side In, Fernando Sucari weaves together two kinds of labor that have shaped much of his adult life: paid work and artistic creation. For several years now, Fernando has worked as an art installer in galleries and various institutions. His role goes beyond simply positioning artworks at a specific height or spacing them according to curatorial design; he also unpacks them with the care such an act demands. This is a behind-the-scenes job that entails physical proximity to materials in the process of being prepared as public, political objects.

At the same time, Fernando is an active agent in the cultural scene. He manages his time not only to secure the resources that sustain his everyday life but also to preserve energy, interest, and desire for his continued exploration of artistic practice.

This Side In is in dialogue with This Side Up, an exhibition Fernando presented at LAR (Local de Artes Recientes) in 2022. In that show, he presented a series of shipping crates for artworks, marked with typical instructions meant to prevent mishandling. Through small openings cut into their surfaces, these boxes revealed intimate, miniature scenes—dreamlike vignettes that played with scale and the construction of narrative.

As a continuation of that exercise, this new exhibition unfolds another loop in his artistic thinking. It introduces a dimension of time that hinges on the expectation of deciphering hidden scenes, oscillating first between distance and closeness.

"Hacia" (“toward” or “facing”) is a Spanish preposition whose function is to orient meaning within a sentence. Some uses of hacia are temporal, others spatial, but they always imply direction. In this exhibition, hacia leans toward spatial orientation—though time cannot exist without space, and vice versa.

Here, Fernando presents a series of works in a factory-like space, evoking a moment frozen in time: it could be a stage in the installation process of an exhibition, or the temporary or permanent storage of artwork crates. At first glance, there doesn’t appear to be an exhibition, but rather a collection of objects scattered throughout a room. What is presented to the eye is a blink—an arrested instant in a longer sequence of meaning. It behaves like the preposition hacia.

But as one steps deeper into the space and approaches the works, a more intimate scene begins to unfold—one that expands upon, shelters, and even contradicts the first impression. In this alternate zone, Fernando works with different scales. He displays a series of open boxes—each with one side removed—inviting viewers to peer inside. Each box holds a composition of objects.

This push and pull between distance and proximity gives rise to a larger, theater-like scene with multiple scales, spatialities, and temporalities—one that might be divided into two groups:
One group features tools of the trade—screws, nails, drill bits, wall plugs, hammers—modified in scale to create a surreal, disorienting effect. The other comprises three-dimensional pieces resembling body parts (heads and skulls) and drops of liquid.

This Side In examines the implications of labor in a society shaped by capitalism. It considers the space that work occupies in our adult lives. The bureaucracies that surround it—defining work hours, fair pay, legal contracts, careful handling of materials, safety conditions—shape how we manage our time, energy, and desire.

At the same time, the installation reflects on the place of art within capitalist society. It raises questions about the cultural weight of images, the artistic and social function of image-making, and access to works that challenge their own place in contemporary society.

This installation raises key questions for a time of crisis:
What is work?
What place does it occupy in our lives?
What role does artistic imagery play in our everyday experience?
And who, in this society, is the tool?

Sebastian Vidal Mackinson
Galería Linse
Noviembre 2024

Watercolors
Sculptures
Installations

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