Into the Gloaming by Bubi Canal

In his first museum exhibition, New York-based artist Bubi Canal uses the body as a structure upon which to hang invented stories of fantastical identities.

Into the Gloaming is a new photographic series by interdisciplinary artist, Bubi Canal (b. 1980, Spain), and curated by Maria Seda-Reeder, that combines elements of pop culture with intuition, to manifest dreamlike characters from alternate realities. Using bright colorful subjects set against otherworldly landscapes at dusk, Canal imbues his work with optimism and innocence, but most importantly, to transmit hope and possibilities for the future. This series of 18 photographs and accompanying video were shot in New York and Santander, Spain, during the transitional time between day and night, the gloaming. In it, the artist presents a personal universe of characters that reflect his expansive imagination and influences as diverse as Cantabrian mythologies and vintage Japanese television shows, creating his own distinctive folklore for a contemporary audience.

Shooting portraits of those he knows intimately (including himself), the artist scripts fantastical scenarios, allowing his subjects to communicate viscerally via natural posture and spontaneous gesture. In the accompanying video, Cosmovision, Canal follows signs through the landscape, taking a semiotic journey of discovery. In Spanish, “cosmovisión” means a particular take on the world and its values. Thus, Canal explores his own internal landscape by going beyond any limits of reason and entering into the unknown. At the core of Canal’s work is the idea that we have the power to manipulate and change the world that surrounds us in order to realize our dreams.