Tremulaciones

Tremulaciones is an exhibition that takes as its point of departure the cosmology of Emanuel Swedenborg. In his 1718 manuscript On Tremulation, he describes our world as fundamentally composed of vibrations. Everything oscillates—even large objects such as buildings or entire cities. Tremulations are present in water and air, and our bodies tremble like the strings of a violin.

This exhibition, which brings together the work of twenty-two artists, uses Swedenborg’s nine rules of the tremulous as a framework to explore forms of transmission and reflection. Works by Joseph Beuys and Félix González-Torresdemonstrate that firm bodies can shudder with the slightest contact; Damián Ortega shows that membranes are the most sensitive medium; Ana Mendieta and Gabriel Orozco reveal that rigid and elastic bodies retain vibration most effectively. The works of Mario García Torres and Franz West illustrate that the denser the atmosphere, the slower the tremulation—and the lighter the air, the faster the movement. Pieces by Alicja Kwade and Michelangelo Pistoletto suggest that every vibration has its reflection. The nine rules have been visualized by Jacqui Davies.

The project has been supported by the Swedish Academy, as well as the Sven Ivar and Siri Lind Foundation through the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Sweden. Earlier versions of Tremulaciones were presented at Swedenborg House in London, at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm, and at No Name in Paris—each conceived as an independent project. This presentation marks its first exhibition in Mexico, featuring works from the Isabel and Agustín Coppel Collection.

Shadows and echoes are central themes in the exhibition, as are methods of transmission and forms of vibration and trembling. The emphasis on the sensory agency of things generates atmospheres with reflections that shift the relationship between the perceiving subject and the observed object. In this way, the exhibition proposes a space where other tremulous forms may emerge.

Since 2023, Birnbaum and Davies have developed a unique collaborative practice. Their transdisciplinary methodologies of exhibition-making juxtapose historical materials with artworks and elements drawn from film, literature, music, science, and cutting-edge digital experimentation, including immersive technologies and mixed realities. Presented in a wide range of institutional contexts, their projects have explored diverse modes of artistic production as well as forms of dissemination and transmission, both ancient and contemporary.

Daniel Birnbaum is a writer and curator based in Paris and Stockholm. From 2000 to 2010, he served as the rector of the Städelschule in Frankfurt and director of its gallery, Portikus. From 2010 to 2018 he was the director of the Moderna Museet in Stockholm. In 2009 he curated the 53rd Venice Biennale. His recent exhibitions include Wassily Kandinsky and Hilma af Klint. Dreams of the Future at K20 in Düsseldorf (with Julia Voss), Fata Morgana at the Trussardi Foundation in Milan (with Massimiliano Gioni), and The Quantum Effect at SMAC, Venice (with Jacqui Davies). His recent publications include Exhibition, Academy, Museum: Notes on the Frames of Art (Walther König, 2022) and the novel Dr. B (Gallimard, 2022). In 2024, Birnbaum joined the Visionary Circle of the Warburg Institute.

Jacqui Davies is a producer and curator based in London and Athens whose work lies at the intersection of art and film. She has independently produced more than eighty films for art galleries, site-specific installations, cinema, and television. She has curated exhibitions in collaboration with film festivals and institutions, including projects with Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Jane and Louise Wilson for the British Film Institute (2009–2011), as well as Embodied: Between Performance and Documentary for CPH:DOX and Nikolaj Kunsthal in Copenhagen (2015). From 2004 to 2015 she commissioned and produced experimental animation and artists’ films for Channel 4 Television. She has produced three feature films, including RAY & LIZ, directed by Richard Billingham, which received multiple awards in 2019. Her recent projects and exhibitions include The Quantum Effect at SMAC, Venice (with Daniel Birnbaum). Her recognitions include the BFI Vision Award (2016–2018), the BIFA Breakthrough Producer Award (2018), and a BAFTA nomination for Best Producer (2019).

— MAZ