Fernando Orellana

Unsustainable Beacon

Fernando Orellana — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 02:55:08 +0000

This statue stands at the precipice of consumption and renewal; testimony to America’s endless romance with destroying and creating itself.

The statue consists of 371 Play-Doh containers, LED lights, fiber-glass, electronics, a solar panel and a Uncle Sam figure. It will be on view from April 26th – November 1st, 2013 as part of the The Uncle Sam Project in Troy, NY. – bit.ly/118MOrI

Void

Fernando Orellana — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 04:31:16 +0000

Whale Ride

Fernando Orellana — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 03:20:26 +0000

Whale Ride is a recipe. A recipe for creating an amusement ride through a blue whale from the point of view of a Paramecium. Inspired by a conversation I once had with the Bio-Artist Joe Davis, the recipe assumes that you already have access to a blue whale and experience with a scuba suit. Enjoy the ride.

Population Growth

Fernando Orellana — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:15:28 +0000

A couple years ago, in response to our ongoing petroleum wars and a fascination with the automobile, I created a machine I dubbed The Extruder. It was charged with the task of making 429,674 Play-Doh automobiles, which is the estimated number of automobiles the FORD Motor Company made in 1947, the year Henry Ford died. This process continues to this day, though I have only achieved a very small percentage of that goal, somewhere in the range of 9000 to 10000 individual Play-Doh automobiles. As the automobiles are made, I encase them in clear epoxy, which seals the ephemeral Play-Doh automobile into the distant future.

As I encased these miniature automobiles in parking-lot configurations, I realized that I was not just sealing the automobiles in epoxy; I was mummifying and entombing them. Like the Pharaohs of antiquity, I was sending my automobiles off in a time machine, to see realities and futures I can only dream of. Instead of elaborate Pyramids serving as the vessel, I was using wall-hung artworks.

In response to this I have designed my new series Population. Since all the Play-Doh automobiles will need drivers in the future, I thought it only appropriate to start extruding the Play-Doh people that would operate the automobiles. However, these drivers will no doubt get hungry and need shelter, so I will also extrude all the Play-Doh cows they might need to eat and the Play-Doh houses they might require.

In varying configurations, the worldly things outlined above will also be encased in epoxy, accompanying the automobiles into oblivion.

Population will be on view during ISEA2012 Albuquerque: Machine Wilderness at the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History from September 18, 2012 till January 6, 2013

Shadows

Fernando Orellana — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 03:14:02 +0000

The interactive artworks found in the series Shadows are designed to be used posthumously. Inspired by paranormal research, spiritualism, and ghost folklore, these machines continuously search for the dead, attempting to allow the departed continued use of their worldly possessions. Extracted from recent estate sales, the personal objects found in these techno-effigies are in a constant state of potential energy, awaiting their owner’s return. By monitoring sudden fluctuations in temperature, infrared, and electromagnetic readings, the machines try to open a channel or doorway into the neither world. By this, each machine gives the dead an opportunity to continue interacting in this world and the next.

For more information regarding the Shadows series, check out the BreakThru Radio – Art Uncovered interview by Thomas Seeley here or the Hyperallergic essay by Sarah Walko here.

Dramatis Personae

Fernando Orellana — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 03:06:34 +0000

Coming Soon!

The Models

Fernando Orellana — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 01:34:44 +0000

In a constant state of pose, the figures found in the series The Models are automatons that await entry into photographic memory. Standing in front of paradise, the figures move back and forth on their robotic track, searching for that perfect moment that never arrives. Viewers are encouraged to take a picture of the figures, helping these desperate robots make a memory.

Slideways

Fernando Orellana — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:16:31 +0000

The complex, multi-layered, and often humorous imagery in the series Slideways is produced somewhat automatically. “The initial drawings surface quickly, almost as if they already existed,” Orellana explains, “In many ways, I am just transcribing the images, allowing them to take shape on their own.” To achieve this, Orellana allows his consciousness to be distracted by external influences, which serves to remove deliberate mark-making from the process. Eventually, Orellana “sees” his subjects in the labyrinth of initial lines and embellishes them. The process is thus related to both the occult practices of automatic writing and Freudian ideas of free association.

Orellana uses a Cintiq Wacom Tablet and digital imaging software to create the paintings, which are then printed on a large-format, archival ink jet printer. The resulting paintings are rich with layers of line work and drenched in color.T

he prints from the series “slideways” were all painted digitally, printed with archival ink and paper. Each is part of an edition of 3, with 2 artist proofs.

robo-bobo

Fernando Orellana — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 04:23:22 +0000

Population

Fernando Orellana — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 03:19:03 +0000

In varying configurations, the worldly things outlined above will also be encased in epoxy, accompanying the automobiles into oblivion.

Population will be on view during ISEA2012 Albuquerque: Machine Wilderness at the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History from September 18, 2012 till January 6, 2013