The work contained in this “First Act of Odradek” consists of three approaches with which the artist Ana Martínez approaches the world of objects. These are selected and arranged in search of complex balances where attention to nuance, subtlety and listening to the imperceptible creates space for ‘the magical’ and evokes resonances of the unconscious.

The current culture of detachment, and the deep uneasiness it produces, lead the artist to investigate objects as agents that intervene in the construction of identity -both individual and collective- and that have the ability to  make the environments we inhabit ‘re-recognizable’.

In a world where -without hardly realizing it- things disappear continuously and become more and more intangible and spectral, it is necessary to investigate the links and stories that objects establish with our roots. To unveil the relationships between the spiritual and the material and to discover what  underlies the symbolic power historically attributed to objects.

Likewise, rituals, in their repetitive and symbolic character known by the individuals of a community, form a temporary architecture that generates belonging and stability.

In Ana’s work, the encounter between objects of different generations, as well as the ritual that celebrates the passing of time of beloved things, propose material and temporal architectures in which to find the other, and through which to build a collective identity.

The artist sheds light on the symbolic and affective value contained in many of our everyday objects and reminds us that both rituals and cherished things are resting poles that anchor us to life.