ExhibitionMarch 3, 2023
Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah
Museo del Barrio presents Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah exhibition until March 26, 2023. The show opened between September and October to coincide with the winter equinox and the beginning of the migration of monarch butterflies, the exhibition's main theme.
Reynier Leyva Novo is a Cuban conceptual artist who lives and works in Houston, Texas. His practice questions ideology and symbols of power, debating the notion of the changing individuals. For this project, the artist virtually reproduces the 6000-mile migratory journey of a monarch butterfly. He employs a virtual avatar that traces the mobilization from Canada through the United States to Mexico. This reproduction is hosted on a website specially designed for the work, which allows the butterfly's journey to be followed. It is also possible to see the changes in the environment, weather, and conditions as the specimen travels.
Methuselah is presented at El Museo del Barrio as a mixed reality installation, in which the animal's movements and behaviors that appear to fly around the observer are seen. Also, the geographical coordinates, time, and weather of the place where it is located are tracked.
In this work, the artist addresses migration, climate change, and the need for transnational cooperation expressed in the animal's life. The above points out the false security of borders and creates a critical metaphor of the existence in the 21st century due to the recent classification of the monarch as an endangered species.
This work was possible thanks to the collaboration of butterfly experts, taxidermists, animators, computer scientists, and software designers for over a year.
In the following link, you can see the inaugural conversation of the exhibition with the artist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iY6-_a4P24&t=1s
Reynier Leyva Novo is a Cuban conceptual artist who lives and works in Houston, Texas. His practice questions ideology and symbols of power, debating the notion of the changing individuals. For this project, the artist virtually reproduces the 6000-mile migratory journey of a monarch butterfly. He employs a virtual avatar that traces the mobilization from Canada through the United States to Mexico. This reproduction is hosted on a website specially designed for the work, which allows the butterfly's journey to be followed. It is also possible to see the changes in the environment, weather, and conditions as the specimen travels.
Methuselah is presented at El Museo del Barrio as a mixed reality installation, in which the animal's movements and behaviors that appear to fly around the observer are seen. Also, the geographical coordinates, time, and weather of the place where it is located are tracked.
In this work, the artist addresses migration, climate change, and the need for transnational cooperation expressed in the animal's life. The above points out the false security of borders and creates a critical metaphor of the existence in the 21st century due to the recent classification of the monarch as an endangered species.
This work was possible thanks to the collaboration of butterfly experts, taxidermists, animators, computer scientists, and software designers for over a year.
In the following link, you can see the inaugural conversation of the exhibition with the artist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iY6-_a4P24&t=1s
