Ernesto Rivera

In a trueque (barter), an exchange happens beyond the confines of language. Trades occur in the frontiers of one’s space, both parties must accept to give something up in order to receive. Regardless of the characteristics of the exchange; what remains constant is the increasing likelihood of the situation unfolding as the distance between the entities decreases.Ernesto Rivera’s installation emerges from domestic impressions, traces and memories of corners, smells and puddles that are sealed in memory even when they're long gone or far away. Once they are detached from their quotidian context, Rivera abstracts them into physical gestures, aiming to generate a visceral approximation to the other; the other space, the other person, the other barterer.Rivera studies the mundane entities that break barriers of approximation. Affinity solidified through clay, paper and wood. Irrational gestures and methods of convergence become ways of approximating contact. The Sliver Space’s physical constraints amplify intimacy, condensing Rivera’s visual language and the visitors into physical rumors.