Originally from Ecuador, Peñafiel migrated to the United States in 2002. Since graduating from the Florida International University’s Fine Arts program in 2016, he concentrated his practice on numerous large scale projects, site-specific, and immersive installations projects presented at The Bass Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, the Orlando Museum of Art, the Elsewhere Museum, the Contemporary Art Center New Orleans, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, the USF Contemporary Art Museum, the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, Atchugarry Art Center, among others. Notable awards include: the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Florida Prize in Contemporary Art, the South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship, the Green Family Foundation, and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.
Edison Peñafiel
Ni Aqui Ni Alla (Neither Here, Nor There)
Multichannel video, audio, crates, luggage, furniture, dishware, rope
"Ni Aqui Ni Alla" explores the intersection of migration, materiality, and perception through a haunting, multichannel video installation. The installation features three-dimensional trunks and furniture that are bound together with rope and dragged by human figures, who are projected in black-and-white on the surrounding walls. This creates a striking contrast between the tangible objects and the ephemeral, ghostlike figures that interact with them.
The imagery in the installation evokes a sense of endlessness and futility, emphasizing the unrelenting nature of the migrant experience. The migrants in the installation are engaged in a Sisyphean task of hauling their possessions through a never-ending cycle of illustrated cities and forest environments. While the trunks and furniture are tangible objects, they also represent the intangible aspects of migration: memories, culture, and identity. As viewers contemplate the plight of these migrants, they are forced to confront their own assumptions about the relationship between people and the things they carry with them.
– Edison Peñafiel
Music Composed, Performed, Recorded & Mixed by Ellis Anderson.
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About the artist
Edison Peñafiel
Originally from Ecuador, Peñafiel migrated to the United States in 2002. Since graduating from the Florida International University’s Fine Arts program in 2016, he concentrated his practice on numerous large scale projects, site-specific, and immersive installations projects presented at The Bass Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, the Orlando Museum of Art, the Elsewhere Museum, the Contemporary Art Center New Orleans, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, the USF Contemporary Art Museum, the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, Atchugarry Art Center, among others. Notable awards include: the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Florida Prize in Contemporary Art, the South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship, the Green Family Foundation, and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.
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