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For his installation at Prospects, Jesus Canuto Iglesias (1992) found inspiration in the world’s largest censer. Referred to as Botafumeiro, this object is an important symbol in Spanish culture and can be found in the cathedral of the pilgrimage site of Santiago de Compostella. It is impossible to imagine the Roman-Catholic church without censers. They have a spiritual meaning: the rising smoke symbolizes the connection between heaven and earth. Frankincense furthermore serves a practical goal as it masks the body odour of the churchgoers.
Iglesias takes the ambiguous significance of censers as the point of departure for Contemporary Botafumeiros (2025). This multisensory installation consists of a steel framework with three censers. The first is invisible, the second is hanging in plain sight, in all its shiny glory. The third is decayed and falling apart. Together they form a triptych, inspired by religious triptychs chock-full of symbolism from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. To the artist the censers symbolize various stages of human understanding, thereby commenting on the human condition. ‘With every technological advancement our knowledge becomes more democratic,’ the artist explains, ‘but perhaps it also becomes more corrupted by our humanity.’
Iglesias can be called an artist-inventor as his sculptures and installations often incorporate all kinds of technological experiments. The most ambitious part of this installation is also the smallest. The artist developed a method to make his own chip, among other things using silicones and sunlight. This handcrafted chip functions as a transistor. Reacting to the touch of visitors, it controls the motors and lights in the installation.
Text: Sarah van Binsbergen
Translated from Dutch by Marie Louise Schoondergang (The Art of Translation)