Inés Cámara Leret
About
© Inés Cámara Leret 2020
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Theretofor
2020

Nearly one hundred samples of seawater donated by people globally, combined with satellite imagery and rendered into fridge magnets. Prolonging the act of remembering, souvenirs are anchoring points for lived experiences. Dislocated from their origins, each sample now lingers as a distanced representation of the bodies of water they once constituted. The work addresses common attempts of  reconciling the act of experiencing and remembering within the domestic space as well as the idea of the tourist as a metaphor of a changing post-modern world.
(This) precious stone set in the silver sea' at Copperfield Gallery London. Curated by Aina Pomar.
Photos by Eva Herzog.
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Tierra de Diatomeas
2017

A hybrid research project where diatoms are addressed as a metaphor to establish a dialogue by remembering historical events, tracing existing narratives and discussing desirable futures of the land, its waters and its people.
Diatoms are microorganisms sensitive to chemical changes and are therefore used to analyse ecological parameters such as water quality. Due to their cells silica wall, they fossilise easily. Through their study, it is possible to analyse agrarian cycles for example marked by the arrival of the Romans, the Industrial Revolution or livestock farming. Diatoms can be found everywhere as they disperse easily, with their presence not limited to places where there is or was water. Furthermore, diatoms outline a map of invasions through the study of their migration, dispersal and propagation of different species, resulting from human activities.
The work materialised in several ways including: a living cartography of all diatoms collected, hybrid ways of using microscopy, the rememberance of submerged towns, the construction of tools for scientific sampling, and a replica of traditional ways of laying cobbles ahead of the incipient architectural anesthesia.
Developed in collaboration with Susana Cámara & María Boto Ordóñez at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Castilla & León. Supported by the University of León, through the Department of Cultural Activities, the Vicerectorate of Social, Cultural and Sport Responsibility & the Laboratory of Diatoms of León as well as KASK/School of Arts de University College Ghent.
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Photosphere
2019
Technology has profoundly transformed our relationship with the Sun. For many of us, glowing screens composed of glass, LED lights and microchip processors have eclipsed its influence on our daily lives and its rhythms. These materials all use silicon dioxide, otherwise known as silica, as a basis for their manufacture. Silica is the most abundant compound in the earth’s crust and is the most common constituent of sand.
Photosphere contains grains of human-made silica sand that have been treated to emit full spectrum white light when exposed to ultraviolet radiation. This new technology, created by scientific researchers Dr. Jesús R. Berenguer Marí­n, Dr. Rubén D. Costa and Prof. Javier Garcí­a, is one of the closest humans have got to replicating the natural light of the Sun to date. It has the potential to minimise the adverse health impacts of artificial blue light which disrupts the body’s circadian rhythm.
In Photosphere, the artificial silica sand was mixed with almost three hundred grains of natural sands collected from different geographic locations from across the world of diverse geologic timescales. Understanding sand as a material that represents not only the basis of our technological and knowledge based society but also cosmological, geological, biological processes of which we’re intrinsically part.
Commissioned by Somerset House for "24/7: A Wake-Up Call for our Non-Stop World" with support from the Adonyeva Foundation, IMDEA Materials Institute and Universidad La Rioja.
Documnentation of Photosphere by Eva Herzog.
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Memory Stone
2017
A vinyl on the wall reads: "Exhale. Your breath can be part of this stone's memory." As visitor's approach a large wooden chest a grid of diffusers invites them to make a donation. One by one, they place a diffuser into a recipient containing the artist's bodily composition of fat, carbon and water. Then, they breathe.
Breath upon breath, each layer becomes a receptacle embedding an ephemeral process like breathing individually and permanently within the limestone. The stone was then printed continuously, using a traditional printmaking technique, until a corresponding set of fifty prints revealed the breaths captured in the collection process.
Special thanks to MU Artspace who commissioned the printing of the breaths during the exhibition 'Fluid Matter: Liquid & Life in Motion'.
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Captured Rainfall Through Asphalt
2015
A copper plate was exposed to the weather in London. In order to capture the data provided by the environment a thin layer of asphalt was carefully placed on the copper's surface and exposed to the weather. Results were notable after an exposure of two hours. A signed limited edition of 10 prints were made.
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Light to 'light'
2018
The term “light” and its definition exposed to 342 years worth of light: a cycle equivalent to the time elapsed since a form of radiance, beyond the visible, was first measured. The work is accompanied by a letter certifying the exposure signed by the laboratory.
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One year of thoughts
2015
Thoughts were written for one year using the same pencil. As the pencil was used and sharpened, the lead and pencil shavings were collected. Then, the pencil was reconstructed into its original shape.
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Amid
2018
A sonification of air in real time. Installed in the gallery is an air monitoring device, an AQ Mesh, linked to each of the speakers. It measures emissions including: nitrogen, carbon dioxide and ozone, travelling from - and to - the outside of the gallery. Each speaker is hung at the corresponding weight of the elements being sonified tracking the change in value, minute by minute.
Commissioned by the Royal College of Art, Curating Contemporary Art, for “4717” at Dyson Gallery. Generously supported by LUX Moving Image, Audio Technica and Air Monitors UK.
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Spit Crystals
2017
Our bodies produce between 0.75 and 1.5 litres of saliva a day and, whilst 99.5% of this clear and odourless fluid is water, the remaining 0.5% provides an incredible insight into who we are, by providing a complex, biological fingerprint. This impressive substance is anti-fungal, anti-viral, coats tissue, buffers between environments and aids in digestion and mineralization.
Within teeth, bones, muscles and even mobile phones - in almost every solid object around, crystals are everywhere. And, whilst geometry is usually associated to a human construct most of the things that surround us crystallise in a perfectly ordered and geometric shape. After working with salivary researchers and expert crystallographers based at King's College London two perfectly ordered crystals were grown from saliva.
Special thanks for their dedication to expert crystallographers: Brian Sutton & Alkistis Mitropoulous & salivary researchers: Jack Houghton, Matthew Blakeley & Lucy Blandford based at King's College London. Thank you Science Gallery London for commissioning the first crystal.