Galleries, Miami
Ilsse Peredo
Ojos Que No Ven
HomeworkIlsse Peredo's solo exhibition Ojos Que No Ven stems from the proverb, "Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente" ("out of sight, out of mind"). The phrase is intentionally left unfinished, inviting each viewer to complete it and to decide what happens when we choose not to look. Inspired by Frida Kahlo's question, "Feet, what do I need them for if I have wings to fly?" Ojos Que No Ven becomes a search for flight beyond familiar ground. Blending personal history with global concerns, this multi-sensory exhibition weaves together influences from recent pilgrimages the artist took through Mexico, Bhutan, and the Navajo Nation. Consequently, works in the show draw inspiration from Day of the Dead altars, Bhutanese prayer flags, and the Navajo principle of Hózhó. While in Bhutan, Peredo learned that happiness is not measured by money, as the country's Gross National Happiness (alternate to GDP) places well‑being above economic growth. Along with learning that the truest prayers are the ones we say for others and that nature must be protected. In Mexico, she witnessed that to remember the dead is to give them another sunrise. That death is a passage, not an ending. In the Utah desert, she learned insights grounded in the Navajo concept of Hózhó, which embraces beauty, balance, and harmony. While accepting that gratitude leaves no room for fear and that desert landscapes embody lessons of impermanence and renewal. Translucent photographic sculptures fill the room building on artistic lineages of expanded photography, particularly works that move beyond the flat image into three‑dimensional space. Aligning with Nicolas Bourriaud's views on relational aesthetics, these unique photographic sculptures house spectral, ghostly images that invite visitors to move around and look through them as translucent portals while becoming part of the work themselves. By dissolving the boundary between image and body, the artist proposes that empathy requires a physical and spiritual step across a threshold. Each image is charged with spirit and memory, while the central tri-cultural altar becomes a bridge between worlds, merging sacred objects and materials from three cultures and traditions. Ojos Que No Ven asks us to look closely and remember that empathy, reverence, and responsibility begin with how we see the world around us. Amid a global crisis of environmental degradation and social fragmentation, Peredo draws on Mexican Catholicism, Indigenous Mesoamerican cosmologies, Bhutanese Buddhism, and Navajo teachings to challenge Western binary thinking. Her work envisions a world where diverse belief systems coexist, reminding us that to truly see is to remember our interconnectedness.