“Future Transmutation” A Large-Scale Installation by Pilar Zeta
When: Open to the Public: 9 a.m. ET -10 p.m. ET, Wednesday, November 30, 2022 – Sunday, December 4, 2022 (excluding private events Tuesday, November 29, 2022, from 7 p.m. ET – 12 a.m. ET, and Wednesday, November 30, 2022, from 12 – 3 p.m. ET)
Where: Lawn, W South Beach, 2201 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Fla., 33139
On the heels of “Hall of Visions” – one of the most talked about works of Art Basel Miami Beach 2021 – Argentinian-born artist, Pilar Zeta returns with “Future Transmutation,” a new site-specific, large-scale interactive sculptural garden and pathway that engages mathematics, astronomy, and occult philosophies as creative devices. “Future Transmutation” is a reminder that, as living entities, we must come to terms with the fact that reality is a transforming one. In order to keep up with transmutation and metamorphosis we need imagination, which Zeta triggers with the help of symbolic meaning. Completely glazed in a violet hue, a color known to elevate our consciousness to a higher state, the piece presents us with a series of elements loosely based on traditional Masonic altarpieces.
In the center, 44 tiles (44 being the number of achievement) float above the lawn floor in a checkerboard arrangement, an allegory of the dualities of the self. As visitors step up onto this platform, they become immersed in glowing, iridescent light as well as interacting shapes, while the tiles become dynamic with movement and touch. Guarded by two candles with violet flames, Zeta urges visitors to look once more at the representation of a portal. Portals are places that harbor a limit. A space where two things meet, one starts and the other ends. Maybe it’s a privileged place for mysterious, magical things to happen. A space opening a new dimension. For imagining a transformation.
Several free-standing sculptures encircle the installation arranged in triangular shapes. Tension is present in two geometric bodies derived from Pithagoras’ mathematical theorem: a sphere, representing the fluid, flowing entities that adapt to the environment, and a pyramid, signifying fire, the energetic, forceful, moving things in the world. Finally, there is a sundial, a device connected to the sun’s movement and position. While everything is inviting us to move towards a future transmutation, looking at the sundial reminds us of the present moment we are living, and that our future self is happening in the transmutation now. It invites us to imagine a future with all our senses and explore what it will look like.
“Life presents many portals – many opportunities to transform who you are, where you are,” said Zeta. “Travel can be a portal, where one can disconnect and be in the moment. That’s what I want those to interact with ‘Future Transmutation’ to be: present while aligning with a future self.”