RELICTO - ARTIST STATEMENT
JUNE 2026:
“There are forms that appear again and again throughout our work. They do not represent a specific place, yet for us they embody a way of understanding time.
We are drawn to that which seems to have remained hidden for an indefinite period—fragments of architecture, pathways, and structures whose original function is unknown, yet which convey a strange sense of permanence, memory, or a vision from another time.
RELICTO emerges from this fascination with remnants—not as a nostalgia for the past, but as the possibility of imagining alternative temporalities. We are interested in creating objects that seem to have passed through different eras without belonging entirely to any one of them; pieces that might be understood as archaeological discoveries or as surviving fragments of what was once a larger whole. A fragment that has endured from a greater construction.
There is no obvious point of departure, nor a single direction in which the work should be read. The eye moves slowly, encountering interruptions, changing course, and returning upon itself, much as one wanders through the ruins of a building whose original order has disappeared. Geometry provides the underlying structure, yet the subtle irregularities of the drawing preserve the trace of the human hand, distancing the work from any sense of mechanical precision.
The contrast between the black wool and the natural tone of the sheep’s wool is not merely a graphic decision. Both colours retain the intrinsic qualities of the material itself. There is no absolute white, nor a perfectly uniform black. The fibres naturally introduce subtle variations in density and tone, lending depth to the surface and reinforcing its organic character.
The work changes with the light, absorbing it in some areas while reflecting it in others, allowing the composition to emerge and recede gradually depending on the viewer’s position.
Materiality occupies a central place in this investigation. We chose to work with Spanish sheep’s wool because it maintains a direct connection to the territory, to artisanal processes, and to the material itself—its scent, its unique texture, and its inherent character.
The piece has been created using a manual tufting technique. Each line is first drawn onto the backing and then constructed independently, building the composition colour by colour. The surface is subsequently hand-finished, refining the pile height, smoothing transitions, and defining each meeting point between forms. This slow and meticulous process leaves subtle irregularities intentionally visible, as they form part of the work’s identity and of the direct relationship between the body, the tool, and the material.
As with much of our practice, RELICTO exists between disciplines. It may be understood as either a rug or a tapestry. It is precisely this ambiguity that interests us: the object retains an architectural presence while actively transforming the space it inhabits. Suspended on a wall, it acquires an almost monumental scale, functioning as the preserved fragment of a larger construction—an element that appears to have been displaced from another place and another time. Placed on the floor, it becomes an excavation, a space into which one can enter and journey toward another dimension.”
