ABSENCE

Interactive installation, 2014 — Ongoing

Absence is an interactive installation that reflects on the crisis of feminicide in Mexico, particularly in Ciudad Juárez. A sewing machine becomes the central element of the work, referencing the women employed in the region’s maquiladoras.

Through generative sound and poetry, the installation creates a space for reflection on memory, violence, and absence.

The installation is conceived as a tribute to women who have been brutally murdered or who remain missing. A central element of the piece is a poem written specifically for the work by the Mexican poet Rocío Cerón.

The sound component was developed in collaboration with artist and composer Eduardo Jiménez. Using custom software created in Max/MSP, a generative sound environment processes multitrack compositions alongside micro-samples of the sewing machine. Through real-time manipulation of pitch, granularity, and spatialization, the installation produces a continuously evolving sonic landscape.

The piece has no defined beginning or end; instead, it operates as an infinite generative system, inviting visitors to reflect on memory, loss, and the persistent absence left by violence.

Selected exhibitions

2014 — Roca Umbert Fàbrica de les Arts, Granollers (Barcelona, Spain)
2015 — Ghent Light Festival, Ghent, Belgium
2015 — FILUX Festival Internacional de las Luces, Mexico City, Mexico
2016 — Galería La Libertad
2017 — Lux Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
2018 — Radical Light Festival, Tartu, Estonia
2022 — FILUX Festival Internacional de las luces, Mérida, Yucatán

Technical details

Sound collaboration: Eduardo Jiménez
Poem: Rocío Cerón
Software: Max/MSP or TouchDesigner
Programming: Eduardo Jiménez
Generative system built in Max/MSP

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