Assignment # 12

Ernesto Caivano was born in Madrid, Spain .One of his famous artworks is called In the woods that is permanently installed in one of the building’s stairwells at MoMA PS1 and it is also based on an ongoing story that tells about the reunion of a young woman and man after a separation of 1,000 years. The artist shows the figures’ psychological changes during their time apart through depicting the familiar natural landscape. In his narrative, Caivano once wrote that the woods symbolize an alternative reality informed by fairytales and folklore. Unlike his another work After the woods that consists of drawings and paper sculptures, In the woods is composed of black latex paint and gouache to create a visual web of images and gives the viewer more mystery and space to imagine what would happen in such a secret woods. In the picture, we can see the long tree branches wind around the walls and sprout up and out onto the ceiling and these would give you the feeling that you might be ruthlessly caught by its branches.  The bird keeps quiet weirdly on the dark branches just likes a very calm onlooker and at the same time it reminds me of those who are indifferent to sufferings of others.  
Caivano uses simple white and black and exaggerated scale to successfully create an attractive scene in such a grungy and small space and guides people into his imaginary world step by step.  Chain-link fencing, hanging light fixtures, rough walls and the content on the drawing look surprisingly harmonious.  The new world the artist creates is apparently peaceful but it seems to have lots of hidden emotions and secrets that I cannot speak. For me, the work reflects the fact that the world we live in actually also has a lot of potential dangers and people live under great pressure. However, I believe Caivano depicts a fantastic fantasy world that are opposite to the real world simply wants to offer people a chance of escaping from the reality for a while, and let them enjoy their quiet moments in this imaginary space and forget the unhappy things in the life.