Camila Magrane: Traces

Traces
Interact with art through augmented reality technology
by Camila Magrane

January 11–February 10, 2023
Institute for the Humanities Gallery, 202 S. Thayer
Gallery hours: M-F 9am-5pm

Related Events

Traces Opening Reception with Camila Magrane in conversation with Curator Amanda Krugliak
Wednesday, January 11, 2023, 6:30-8
Institute for the Humanities Gallery, 202 S. Thayer

free and open to the public

Scan the QR code to access the Virtual Mutations app

Traces explores the relationship between the past and the present with a focus on the process of transformation as the connecting thread. The work consists of a series of collages and a collection of Polaroids that are accompanied by animations and video clips seen solely through the use of an augmented reality application (Virtual Mutations).

The scenarios presented in the static images act as literal stages for animated narratives. What once was a captured single moment echoes into motion, creating an additional layer as to what will come thereafter. A dialogue between the past and the present is established and the app itself acts as a mediator between these tenses, allowing the observer to have a glimpse of the afterthought, that range from digital collages to Polaroid instant film.

Camila Magrane is a multimedia artist originally from Caracas, Venezuela. Having a father from the U.S. and a mother from Venezuela, she grew up alternating between both countries. Being fully exposed to two different cultures gave her a greater understanding of what it means to have various perspectives. After graduating from film school in Caracas, she moved to San Francisco where she freelanced as an editor and camera operator. After discovering a passion for video games and interactive media, Magrane obtained a BS in computer science with a concentration in game development. This eventually led her to working in the game industry as a cinematic artist.

Magrane has been pursuing a professional career as a multimedia artist since 2017, working within a variety of mediums, from photography and collage to animation and virtual/augmented reality (AR). She has been most noted for the creation of her AR image-based work where she’s established a postmodern aesthetic by combining traditional darkroom techniques with the use of digital tools.

Prior to her career in the arts, Magrane worked as a community organizer and teacher, creating and managing a curriculum for teaching 3rd-6th graders coding skills in public schools in Caracas, Venezuela. She continues to be active in community work by giving talks and workshops revolving around the topics of art, technology, and the use of AR as a creative medium.

Camila Magrane has exhibited work internationally in numerous exhibitions, event spaces, fairs, and festivals. Selected exhibitions & clients include The Academy of Sciences, The Exploratorium, Themes+Projects Gallery, Minnesota Street Project, MUKEK, Gray Area, Sothebys, and Adobe. Selected press inquiries include Forbes, Adobe Blog, Refinery29, Lenscratch, Las Vegas Weekly, Las Vegas Review Journal, and Open Studios Guide.
 

Traces by Camila Magrane takes us down the proverbial rabbit hole, leading to worlds we could have never expected. The exhibition includes a series of collages and a collection of polaroids accompanied by animations and video clips that come to life through the use of the augmented reality application Virtual Mutations.

The scenes, once activated, are mesmerizing. Reminiscent of early zoetropes from the past, they are forever fascinating no matter the endless repetitions or passing of time. 

Like doors through the floor, they allude to future worlds. 

Magrane’s images feel connected to the surrealist compositions of artists like Salvador Dali, or Rene Magritte, rooted in the unconscious, dream-like, sensuous, and unsettling.  At the same time, the works reference the graphic hyperrealism of contemporary video game design which continues to be an integral part of Magrane’s artistic practice. 

The many layered works in v are at once kinetic and immersive, pensive and jangly, psychological and contemplative.

Through Magrane’s constructed realities, viewers become time travelers, and the app is the portal. The overall experience offers us the opportunity virtually to transcend the familiar boundaries and limitations of the world as we have come to know it and to create the space for wonder.

Magrane sees the process of transformation as the common thread, “...where static images become literal stages for animated narratives, creating an additional layer as to what will come thereafter.” Through the combination of past and present, virtual and analog, her worlds allude to the possibility of change and re-invention, of our own transformation through the return to our imaginations.

—Amanda Krugliak, Institute for the Humanities Curator