Scientia in Azkuna Zentroa

Until the last day of August, the large sculpture christened Scientia by its author, the North American sculptor Grimanesa Amorós, originally from Peru, can be seen in the atrium of the Azkuna Zentroa. A gigantic work that synthesises the direct relationship with technology, which is one of the distinctive features of this artist, who lives and works in New York, from where she designs her installations. 

Amorós uses sculpture, video and lighting to create works that reaffirm personal and community identity. In this case, the aim was to serve as a gateway to the Wellbeing Summit for Social Change, the 1st International Congress on Wellbeing for Social Change. An endeavour created jointly by, among others, the Azkuna Zentroa, the Synergos Institute and Georgetown University.

Scientia, a Latin word meaning knowledge, experience or expertise, implies in the author's view "the search for and sharing of wisdom, in a way that explores the human connection using our basic understanding of the world: fire, water, earth and light". And indeed, what the visitor sees as soon as he steps into the atrium of the Azkuna is a great tangle of interconnected, illuminated cables, whose aim is to promote the health and wellbeing of those who contemplate this sculpture, which Amorós herself describes as light.

She notes that "creating large-scale immersive sculptures requires an understanding of how our environment affects our state of mind and well-being". As for Scientia, made for a specific site, she intends it to engage visitors in a dialogue with the architecture and the surrounding community. "In this way it encourages moments of self-reflection and self-realisation, while simultaneously creating a connection through the use of light". 

Regarding the site chosen for this installation, the Azkuna Zentroa is a place conceived to engage with culture as a practice, process and space of experience. It pays special attention to the female perspectives of art, with mediation and education as a way of generating critical knowledge and transforming society through art and artists.