Urban Layers

Aida Tejada

The human being, as the dominant species, placed urban society as part of a logical path to civilization, creating not only new social tensions but also an extensive and intensive environmental impact.

This designed life, like a whirlwind, drags us with indifference into an automated mass; individual thought is ejected from our perceived plane of action. In this condition we lose the connection between humanity and nature, a bridge we inherited from the animals.

In our blinding infatuation to be self-labeled as “superior beings,” we force ourselves into a vicious circle. We become executioners and victims of our own actions. Our footprint is bold and the future is blurry.

The images I work with stem from everyday observation of the human condition and the interaction with its surroundings. The imperfections I encounter tend to take the concept of time and space out of context and strip everything away – landscape, gender, cultural background, and our biases – to create a new history in the shape of a dream.

The concept of time and space is captured within the acrylic skin I create as a series of epidermal layers. The process becomes a metaphor for human skin, created from individual cells into the shape of a living being, with all its flaws and irregularities. Through their imperfections, I have made a personal ontology that expresses my doubt about assumptions that we exist as a ‘civilized’ species.