SEFT-1 Abandoned Railways Exploration Probe - Modern Ruins 1:220

Triscott, N., La Frenais, R., Padilla Domene, A. and Puig Domene, I. 2014. SEFT-1 Abandoned Railways Exploration Probe - Modern Ruins 1:220. Furtherfield Pavilion, Finsbury Park, London N4 2NQ 20 Jun - 27 Jul 2014

CreatorsTriscott, N., La Frenais, R., Padilla Domene, A. and Puig Domene, I.
Description

Ivan Puig and Andrés Padilla Domene (Los Ferronautas) built their striking silver road-rail SEFT-1 vehicle to explore the abandoned passenger railways of Mexico and Ecuador, capturing their journeys in videos, photographs and collected objects.

In their first London exhibition, SEFT-1 Abandoned Railways Exploration Probe: Modern Ruins 1:220, commissioned by Rob La Frenais and Nicola Triscott, Arts Catalyst and presented in partnership with Furtherfield Gallery, in the heart of Finsbury Park, the artists explore how the ideology of progress is imprinted onto historic landscapes and reflect on the two poles of the social experience of technology - use and obsolescence.

Between 2010 and 2012, the artists travelled across Mexico and Ecuador in the SEFT-1 (Sonda de Exploración Ferroviaria Tripulada or Manned Railway Exploration Probe). In a transdisciplinary art project, they set out to explore disused railways as a starting point for reflection and research, recording the landscapes and infrastructure, stories and testimonials around and between cities. Interviewing people they met, often from communities isolated by Mexico’s passenger railway closures, they shared their findings online, http://www.seft1.com, where audiences could track the probe’s trajectory, view maps and images and listen to interviews.

The artists’ journeys led them to the notion of modern ruins: places and systems left behind quite recently, not because they weren’t functional, but for a range of political and economical reasons. In the second half of the 19th century, the Mexican government partnered with British companies to built the railway line that would connect Mexico City with the Atlantic Ocean – and beyond to Europe. This iconic railway infrastructure now lies in ruins, much of it abandoned due to the privatisation of the railway system in 1995, when many passenger trains were withdrawn, lines cut off and communities isolated.

For this new exhibition, the artists are inviting British expert model railway constructors to collaborate by creating scale reproductions of specific Mexican railway ruins, originally built by British companies, exactly as they are now. One gallery becomes a space for the process of model ruin construction. The room’s walls will show the pictures, documents, plans and other materials used as reference for the meticulously elaborated ruin construction. With this action a dystopian time tunnel is created.

Keywordscontemporary art, art, transport, Mexico, railways, art vehicle
Year2014
Web address (URL)http://www.artscatalyst.org/seft-1-abandoned-railways-exploration-probe-modern-ruins-1220

Related outputs

Genetic Automata by Larry Achiampong and David Blandy
Triscott, N., Achiampong, A. and Blandy, B. 2019. Genetic Automata by Larry Achiampong and David Blandy. Arts Catalyst, London 24 Jan - 30 Mar 2019

The Live Creature and Ethereal Things: Physics in Culture
Triscott, N., Crisp, F., Sebastian, S., Shears, T., Malina, R., Nahum, Neyrinck, M., Saraceno, T., Cipcigan, F., Kukula, M., Lawson, H., Coy, P., Bello, M. and Thomson. J. Triscott, N. and Crisp, F. (ed.) 2018. The Live Creature and Ethereal Things: Physics in Culture. London Arts Catalyst (Publisher).

The Live Creature and Ethereal Things
Triscott, N. 2018. The Live Creature and Ethereal Things. in: Triscott, N. and Crisp, F. (ed.) The Live Creature and Ethereal Things London Arts Catalyst (Publisher). pp. 12-24

Dreamed Native Ancestry (DNA) by Mission//Misplaced Memory
Triscott, N., Bunsie, Z., Steward, G., Mathison, T. and Gould, G. 2017. Dreamed Native Ancestry (DNA) by Mission//Misplaced Memory. London 23 Nov 2017 - 27 Jan 2018

Real Lives Half Lives: Fukushima
Triscott, N., Waite, J. and Lastra, C. 2017. Real Lives Half Lives: Fukushima. Arts Catalyst, 74-76 Cromer Street, London WC1H 8DR 19 May - 15 Jul 2017

Conflict Minerals: Lise Autogena & Joshua Portway, Nabil Ahmed
Triscott, N., Autogena, L., Portway, J. and Ahmed, N. 2017. Conflict Minerals: Lise Autogena & Joshua Portway, Nabil Ahmed. Arts Catalyst, 74-76 Cromer Street, London WC1H 8DR 24 Mar - 22 Apr 2017

Holoturian, Ariel Guzik
Triscott, N. and Simmonds, M.P. Triscott, N. (ed.) 2017. Holoturian, Ariel Guzik. London

Curating contemporary art in the framework of the planetary commons
Triscott, N. 2017. Curating contemporary art in the framework of the planetary commons. The Polar Journal. 7 (2), pp. 374-390. https://doi.org/10.1080/2154896X.2017.1373916

Critical Art and Outer Space: a curatorial inquiry into space as a global commons
Triscott, N. 2016. Critical Art and Outer Space: a curatorial inquiry into space as a global commons. Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting 2016. San Francisco 29 Mar - 02 Apr 2016

Graveyard of Lost Species - Critical Art Ensemble / YoHa
Triscott, N., Harwood, G., Kurtz, S. and Lastra, C. 2016. Graveyard of Lost Species - Critical Art Ensemble / YoHa. Site specific, Leigh-on-Sea marshes, Southend, Essex. Ordinance survey grid ref: TQ 82738 85478 07 Jul 2016 - 31 Dec 2018

Notes from the Field: Commoning Practices in Art and Science
Triscott, N. and Steadman, A. 2016. Notes from the Field: Commoning Practices in Art and Science. Arts Catalyst Centre for Art, Science & Technology 74-76 Cromer Street London WC1H 8DR 28 Jan - 19 Mar 2016

Transmissions from the Noosphere: Contemporary art and outer space
Triscott, N. 2016. Transmissions from the Noosphere: Contemporary art and outer space. in: The Palgrave Handbook of Society, Culture & Outer Space Palgrave Macmillan.

Revital Cohen & Tuur Van Balen: assemble | standard | minimal
Triscott, N., Hauser, J., Cohen, R. and Van Balen, T. 2015. Revital Cohen & Tuur Van Balen: assemble | standard | minimal. Schering Stiftung, Unter den Linden 32-34, 10117 Berlin, Germay 23 Jan - 03 May 2015

Holoturian - Ariel Guzik
Triscott, N. 2015. Holoturian - Ariel Guzik. Edinburgh Art Festival 30 Jul - 30 Aug 2015

Self-Experimentation & the Nervous Culture: Neal White’s Ethics Committee of 1
Triscott, N. 2014. Self-Experimentation & the Nervous Culture: Neal White’s Ethics Committee of 1. in: Trust Me, I’m an Artist: Towards an Ethics of Art and Science Collaboration Waag Society.

Republic of the Moon
Triscott, N. and La Frenais, R. 2014. Republic of the Moon. Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, South Bank, London SE1 9PH 10 Jan - 02 Feb 2014

Permalink - https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/q3275/seft-1-abandoned-railways-exploration-probe-modern-ruins-1-220


Share this

Usage statistics

181 total views
0 total downloads
These values cover views and downloads from WestminsterResearch and are for the period from September 2nd 2018, when this repository was created.