Vizcaya Museum and Gardens presents Overload, a new Contemporary Arts Program (CAP) exhibition on view December 6, 2017 through April 2, 2018. Four artists have been commissioned to explore the activation of the senses in this immersive exhibition created for the estate. Artists include David Brooks (NY, NY), Orlando Jacinto Garcia (Miami, FL), Arnout Meijer (Amsterdam, NL) and Tanja Smeets (Utrecht, NL). The artists’ work emphasizes engagement and considers how the activation of the senses can alter the experience of a space.
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The work of Arnout Meijer explores the relationship between reality and illusion characterized by his ongoing investigations of perception, light and culture. He describes Vizcaya as a “patchwork of original Roman statues, fake coats of arms, and electric ‘candles’ that combine to create a hyperreal landscape.” In the same way Meijer considers our sense of sight to be constructed and influenced by our previous experiences; we see what we think we should see. In his site-specific installation, visitors become aware of their own sight, challenged to distinguish between what is real and what is simulated.
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Throughout the exhibition Meijer’s work will change as the position of the sun and the other elements in the sky move. New, multilayered realities emerge as day fades into night, as environmental conditions change and as winter progresses to spring. Just as people around the world see the same sun but a different sky, each visitor will have an individual experience of 46020 ft³ cyan/yellow. From multiple positions they take in the illusionary effects that shape their reality and ultimately shape their unique encounter with Vizcaya.
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