LIQUID CRYSTALS: SOUTHERN ALBERTA ART GALLERY

Opening September 25th, 2021 at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery in Lethbridge, AB, Canada

Exhibition text by Adam Whitford, Interim Curator at Southern Alberta Art Gallery:

In his 1904 paper Flüssige Kristalle, German physicist Otto Lehman first described the liquid, flowing crystals which occupy a state of matter between conventional liquids and solid crystals. Mechanically, liquid crystals behave as a fluid but contain the optical properties of solid crystals, causing the polarization of light that would become the basis for LCD technology. At a basic level, Gabriel Esteban Molina captures the fluidity and reflectivity of organic materials and their technological applications. His works continually reflect on the psychological, social, and spiritual values attributed to the patterns of digital screens.

Arranging his camera in front of TVs and computer monitors, Molina records the unperceived micro-abstractions present in digital screens. The attraction to even the simplest of Molina’s repeating patterns of digital stimuli subverts the instant allure to digital screens. The instant attraction to screens and the rich colour and shifting patterns of these abstractions-in-process induce an almost hypnotic effect that keeps us watching. Screens are engrossing and Molina reveals our willingness to enter into the hypnotic state induced by the two-dimensional surface. Much like the Modern painters who intentionally revealed their brushstrokes and flattened the perspectival window of painting, Molina’s images call attention to the limits and almost magical abilities of the mesmerizing façade.

In considering the SAAG’s library space, Molina imagined the bookshelves as containers similar to CRT TVs, building mirror boxes to house videos and photos, enhancing their hypnotic effects. Molina also includes videos and photos taken of natural subjects like water and the substrates within that produce a similarly hypnotic and illusory depth. Molina’s vinyl mural on the window of the library makes the most direct connection between screens and spirituality, connoting the cloisonné forms and illumination of colour in stained glass. Even the notion of hypnotic crystals supposes a form of New Age spirituality that imbues minerals, whether inside of a screen or not, with magical properties.