Vastum is an inflection of the Latin word vāstus and refers to the concept of waste. The author created a series of masks from recycled waste. The pieces of his collection are inspired by the abstract view of concepts such as fashion, alchemy, physics, chemistry, witchcraft, and the beauty of creating an image. Every mask in Vastum is inspired by a particular witch, and these witches are the metaphorical projectors of nature. They came out of the waste to show us beauty in unexpected places.
Mikel Archila was born in La Paz, Baja California Sur, in Mexico. He began his studies in Visual Arts, with an emphasis on experimental methods and techniques, at the UDG Guadalajara, Jalisco. His proximity to the sea in his native La Paz generated a deep interest in the ecological cause as well as the mystery of life and its concepts, which influenced the content of his work in many ways, becoming a central part of his discourse. Added to these contents are his technical solutions, oriented towards the aesthetics of the sublime and highly influenced by the image of fashion.
Photo: Maša Pirc / BIEN 2023
