Metamorphosis: Nature, Plastic, Bullets … Art!

February 2, 2024  |  Topics: featured artist

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The art of Federico Uribe at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA)

Upon entering the large gallery, I was immediately drawn to one corner where an open door revealed the inside of what appeared to be a very colorful closet. The contrast with the white walls of the gallery was striking and alluring. As I drew closer, the mostly bright blue and blue-green colors began to coalesce into myriad fanciful objects floating against an intensely hued background. Upon entering what turned out to be a small, crowded space I felt suddenly immersed in a magical, but clearly artificial reef. Fish and other sea creatures, suspended from the ceiling on nearly invisible filaments, floated before my eyes. Sculpturally created structures resembling different kinds of corals lined the floor and walls.

The sheer volume of materials and the intensity of the colors were stunning. But topping off the sensual impact was the dawning realization that it was all made out of plastic. The significance of that choice of material was unmistakable. The oceans—and everything in them—are filling up with plastic waste generated by us humans. I was torn between its loveliness and the tragedy it represented. I stepped back outside the “reef” and read the label on the gallery wall. Uribe wants us to reflect on ocean pollution and our responsibility for it, it said. “His artistic choice of materials—recycled plastic—evokes the human-made impact on the sea, as more and more garbage gets integrated into coral reefs, eroding plants, killing animals, and producing floating plastic islands.” But then it concludes by suggesting that “Uribe’s colorful reef invites us to imagine the possibilities for a better, healthier future.”

I’m still torn between the loveliness and the tragedy. And wait until I tell you about the bullets….

Still image of Plastic Reef above. Video of Plastic Reef link: https://youtu.be/f8ZJcPpngP4

Happenstance brought me to the museum. I was in Madison for an event at the Capitol that ended early, giving me time to take a stroll down State Street. I didn’t get far before my eyes were arrested by some sculptural forms visible through the windows of the Museum of Contemporary Art. These included an enormous globe resembling Earth but made out of some odd material indiscernible from outside. I went in and quickly found myself captivated.

The Earth, which was even more spectacular close up, turned out to be made out of rubber baby bottle nipples. Chew on the symbolism of that for a moment. And that was just the beginning. On the opposite wall, across the broad lobby of the museum, was a sculpture that clearly represented a panda bear and its cub. Nature, the Earth, animals, etc., was the obvious theme here—nothing unusual about that. But closer inspection of the pandas revealed that there was nothing usual about the way they were fabricated. The characteristic black and white fur on the bears was made entirely out of bullet shells.

Mother Earth (or “Earth Mother” in this case) may be responsible for nurturing all life, it seemed to suggest, but we humans are responsible for a whole lot of other impacts on…, well, take a peek at the rest of the exhibit—entitled Metamorphosis | Metamorfosis—to get a glimpse of the answer to that.

The artist is Colombian-born, Miami-based artist Federico Uribe. I’ve never heard of him before. Here are a few excerpts from the information provided in the exhibition about him and his work.

“Metamorphosis features … Uribe’s magical, colorful, and sculptural menagerie of animals made of everyday materials. Colorful shotgun casings and golden varying caliber bullets are brought together to form a lion; leather sneakers are arranged into a leaping puma; scissors form a wooly sheep, and an army helmet becomes a turtle’s shell.

“Uribe’s expressive sculptures offer the opportunity to experience feelings of joy, optimism, and compassion. In the words of the artist: If you relate to the objects, good. If it makes you smile, better.

“You might go deeper with your exploration and consider how Uribe turns a material on its head. With bullet shells, for example, the artist has the goal to fashion images of hope and beauty; we can enter into a conversation about gun violence. While perhaps a utopian idea, what would it look like if bullets spread joy and love, inspiring a sense of awe and beauty, instead of horror and tragedy?”

“In an interview, Uribe underlines the irony inherent in his choice of materials: “People kill animals to make shoes; I make animals out of shoes.” One might then think that the artist intends to alert viewers to the senseless killing of animals. But, instead, Uribe aims to use ordinary and sometimes provocative materials to challenge associations; the goal is against the grain and utopian — or, as he says, to “make people happy” — in spite of preconceived connotations. Uribe shape-shifts feelings of sorrow, rage, and despair to create positive, immersive environments.

“Uribe makes art that surprises and engages. He creates exquisitely made objects that are assemblages of items such as bullet shells, cut up pieces of color pencils, colored shoelaces and pins, electrical wires, ties, plastic waste, just to name a few. The sculptures he creates are not sculpted but constructed and woven, in curious and unpredictable, repetitive and almost compulsive ways. The result is absolutely whimsical yet contains enormous efficacy and communicability.”

“By connecting objects in such fresh ways, Uribe reflects on Nature’s pivotal presence and in the process, he goes full circle and gives back to Nature what was taken from her: as trees are turned into books, Federico turns books into trees, leather shoes into animals, while the use of bullets and cartridges to bring a fox or a rabbit back to life might illustrate dramatically the brutal annihilation of wildlife all around our planet. Uribe’s use of bullet shells plays with the juxtaposition between playful or noble subject matter and an emblematically dangerous medium. The pieces depict animals or plants that are full of life and reflect an innocence that the artist sees in nature.”

Personally, while I find the work remarkable and compelling, I can’t help feeling like Uribe wants it both ways. The work suggests death and destruction while his expressed intention is to make you happy. He wants us to remember the humor and beauty, which is wonderful. But let’s not forget the responsibility and the need to address the issues raised by the work.

Metamorphosis | Metamorfosis will remain on display at MMoCA through May 26, 2024.

For more information about the exhibit, museum hours, etc., go to the MMoCA website.

For more about the artist and many more examples of his work go to Federico Uribe’s website.

More featured art from The Natural Realm.

Eddee Daniel is a board member of Preserve Our Parks.

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