“In Praise of Darkness” by Adrián Balseca

2024 · color · EC · No dialogue · 17’ · In competition

Deep in Ecuador’s Mullumica Valley, figures are busy extracting obsidian, an opaque volcanic rock. The rock then begins its metamorphosis, transported from the quarry to the pristine confines of a laboratory where it takes on its ultimate role – as a replacement for the director’s artificial eye. A mineral chronicle charting the course of healing. (VdR)

THE DIRECTOR | ADRIÁN BALSECA

Adrián Balseca (Quito, 1989) is an artist and filmmaker based in Buenos Aires. His 

work focuses on highlighting specific aspects of different ecosystems through artistic strategies, investigating socio-environmental agendas related to extractive processes.

Recent exhibitions include: Nyctalopia (Void Art Centre, Derry, 2023); 55th Visions Du Réel International Film Festival (Nyon, 2024); Critical Landscapes: Selected Works from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection (MCA Denver, Denver, 2023); ROUTING RUBBER (New York, 2024; The genetically altered seed breaks the rhythm of an earthly music—Encounters over Several Plants (TATE Modern, London, 2022); Who Tells a Tale Adds a Tail: Latin America and Contemporary Art (Denver Art Museum, Denver, 2022); 34th São Paulo Biennial: Faz escuro mas eu canto (Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, São Paulo, 2021); among others.