VERÓNICA SORIA MARTINEZ: MEMORY ACCESS
AT ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM
ON VIEW: February 12 – May 31, 2021
OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, May 21
Programming: TBD
By mixing augmented reality, video projections, and sound, Verónica Soria-Martinez’s exhibition Memory Access invites visitors into a multi-sensory space that investigates a speculative future through fictional relics. Soria-Martinez’s exhibition is loosely inspired by two prominent Argentinian writings from 1940s: Adolfo Bioy Casares’s short novel The Invention of Morel, which could be considered a prediction of virtual and augmented reality and Jorge Luis Borges’s short story Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius which is a tale about an alternate reality in which humans deny the existence of material objects and nouns in language—questioning if something can exist if it is not perceived. Soria-Martinez further investigates this mind-bending philosophical question specifically by using augmented reality to reveal her sculptures within the gallery space. Soria-Martinez explains “I became very intrigued by the idea of presenting fiction as fact, with the addition of contradictions that would lead to some atrocious truth about ourselves”, referring to her connection to the Argentinian writers. From the augmented reality sculptures of “relics from the future” to the audio narration explaining their history, visitors are encouraged to physically, intellectually, and virtually investigate this intriguing exhibition.
Born in Spain, Rockford-based artist Verónica Soria Martinez focuses on visual culture and sonic arts. She holds PhD and Masters degree in Visual Arts and Intermedia from Polytechnic University in Valencia, Spain. From 2014 to 2018 she worked in an art collective (Cràter) that focused in community projects and public site interventions in Spain. A portion of her research can be read in English at “Resounding Memory: Aural Augmented Reality and the Retelling of History”, Leonardo Music Journal n. 27 (MIT Press). Martinez has exhibited internationally at places such as Museu de Belles Arts, Castellón, Spain; Ausblick Privat in Meiningen, Germany; and Art Públic, Universitat Pública in Valencia, Spain to name few. She currently teaches CAPA art at West Middle School for RPS 205 and is an instructor for New Genres Art Space.
Matinez’s research interests include: Sound art and music, audio and visual cultures, art education, digital and interactive art, critical theory, and social movements.