MTN Virtual Residency: Third week of work

Motomichi Nakamura and Nicolas Romero EVER continue working on the projects they’ve concocted for the MTN Virtual Residency. Below, we follow up on their two totally different artistic and creative styles, each of which requires a very specific kind of artistry.

MOTOMICHI NAKAMURA the importance of light and space 

The New Yorker’s work, unique in itself, begins from a precise study of the environmental conditions where he’ll be casting his projections —  since it is the location themselves that will determine the final outcome of all his studio work. 

There are a number of variables that Motomochi has to balance when it comes to his installations: the search for an ambient light that isn’t too overbearing, the choice of where to place the projector and its cables without blocking traffic (for both cars and pedestrians), ensuring that the projected light isn’t blinding anyone, and the distance between the projector and the surface. 

Despite the fact that the stages are completely empty in the recordings we have of his work, all throughout the work process there is an interaction with all kinds of passers-by. Inevitably, the spectator’s surprise obliges them to record the projections on their smartphones. “People involved in visual productions such as photographers, filmmakers, playwrights or designers come to me for technical questions and some even offer a thorough critique (something that’s very New Yorker),” he explains. 

The arrival of this new reality has had a decisive impact on Motomichi's career. One of his ideas consisted of placing his projections on the subway, a project that he had to leave pending. Besides that, social distancing has diminished the interaction between casual viewers of his projections, something that, according to him, is quite sad.

NICOLAS ROMERO EVER, classic format, extremely modern vision 

So far, Ever has produced four paintings and is involved in the process of a diptych, the first time he has worked on two pieces at the same time. 

Apart from the brilliant realism techniques that he demonstrates with his brushstrokes, perhaps what makes Nicolas Romero's work truly interesting is the symbiosis between the classic and the modern that exists in his pieces. On the one hand, his naturalistic style leads us to think of historical paintings, reinforced by the concept of "still life" — a category of paintings that encompass his works perfectly. But it is the intellectual search for cultural elements through objects that offer us a contemporary perspective of his work, as well as the pop aesthetics that industrial objects inevitably lead us to. 

In the pieces that Ever is working on, we see the appearance of portraits. We find them among the elements that he has chosen for his compositions, and he uses them to emphasize one of the meanings that his work has taken on: the confrontation between European and Latin American culture. A phenomenon that is understandable given his current situation: the public health advisory is preventing him from returning to Buenos Aires, and extending his stay in Madrid is forcing him to settle — especially emotionally — in the capital.