Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle

Struck during his initial residencies by the disparity of resources for surveillance possessed by the US as compared to Mexico, Chicago-based artist Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle proposed a transformation of the bullring at Playas de Tijuana for inSITE2000. Working on a scale indicative of the site (the third largest bullring in the world) Manglano-Ovalle transformed the bullring into a large radio telescope searching for “aliens.” Titled Search/En búsqueda the work functioned as a listening device searching the atmosphere for any discernible noise made by aliens. A suspended antenna above a receiving dish (constructed from the white sails used on America’s Cup racing boats) located at ground level of the bullring would pick up sounds that in turn would be broadcast, along with the white noise from the atmosphere, on speakers surrounding the bullring, as well as on FM radio and the web. The notion of possible contact with aliens both at the border and in space made the piece, according to the artist, “a global event, possibly cosmic.”

Curators: Susan Buck-Morss, Ivo Mesquita, Osvaldo Sánchez, and Sally Yard
Venue: Plaza de Toros Monumental de Aguascalientes, Playas de Tijuana

Acknowledgments