Antimundo

‘Solaris’ is Oscar Santillán’s latest solo exhibition at Copperfield, London, opening on 27 May 2026.

The exhibition departs from a work of the same title that enables “the desert to look at itself”.

Using sand from the Atacama Desert, the artist created a photographic lens through which the desert was then photographed. The resulting images propose a form of geological self-awareness, also manifested in different ways across the other artworks in the exhibition.

‘Solaris’ follows the opening of the Ecuador Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale.

🕒 Opening hours
Wed to Sat, 12–6 pm (and by appointment)
On view until 1 Aug 2026

📍6 Copperfield Street
London SE1 0EP

If in Venice, we’ll be more than glad to have you stopping by the Ecuador Pavilion, an exhibition that embraces the practices of the admired and myself; and, curated by the curious mind of 🐉

The location of the Pavilion can be easily found on the way to Giardini:

📍Castello 1636/A, Venice, Italy
(you can also access the Pavilion through Via Garibaldi)

📅 Official opening:
Today, Wednesday May 6th - 4pm

✨ RSVP (DM me and I’ll add to you the list)

*the Pavilion is accesible all day today except at the official opening at 4pm by invitation

Thanks to the comissioner of the Ecuador Pavilion, to and for supporting my presentation.

For centuries, modern science has attempted to rationally classify the planet's immeasurable complexity. In 1735, the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus proposed that the world was composed of three kingdoms: animal, vegetable, and mineral, each subdivided into multiple categories.

Although intellectually elegant, this system could neither contain everything in existence nor point at the relationships between the parts.

To "resolve" this impossibility, Linnaeus added a fourth category: Paradoxa.

"Paradoxa" listed those beings that escaped his classifications or whose existence he doubted, such as dragons, frog-fish, and unicorns. This became the point of departure for the work shared in this post.

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Paradoxa, 2025
Oil paint on canvas, stainless steel, laser-cut plexiglass, ABS resin and automotive paint.
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Credits

A project by Oscar Santillán
Produced by Studio Antimundo

3D design for metal and plexiglass, Matheo Pérez
3D digital visualizations, Pedro Castillo
Painted components, Ema Jariso, Michael Vera, and Oscar Santillán.
Making of metal components, Víctor Yépez
Production coordination, Andrea Galarza

I see a deranged method turned into classroom common sense: artistic processes begin with students being expected to think first so that, at a later point, they can (supposedly) learn the skills needed to execute their vision or, better yet, have a technician make it for them.

Said otherwise, under the reigning paradigm, the artist speaks and the material just obeys. I consider this a total pedagogical disservice to students.

This meanstream pedagogical approach can be called "un-skilling".

It relies on intellectual reflectivity as its point of departure, and it treats artistic media as interchangeable tools chosen according to the needs of each project. For un-skilling, thinking is primal while craft is just instrumental. One can confidently say that, for a long while, un-skilling has been the pedagogical ideology ruling most art schools: think first and, once sure, proceed to execute.

By contrast, "pro-skilling" is its opposite. It begins from practical competence. It refuses to see art-making as something that happens first in the mind and only later trickles down to the hand (or the body). Instead, pro-skilling trusts the messy guidance of the material: the accidents that only appear once you start working, and the emergent qualities that surface through contact and even repetition.

So, my question here is: what if art education takes on a pro-skilling turn?

‘Lacuna’ comes into existence as a condensation of the creative energy that will be presented at the Ecuador Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia 2026.

‘Lacuna’ is an artwork in itself, composed of three elements:

— One handmade drawing
(each box contains a unique drawing)

— One photographic print showing a digital element

— One sculptural USB containing an audiovisual work inside

Limited edition meant to support the production of Oscar’s new works for the pavilion

If interested please reach us.
‘Lacuna’ is also available through

‘Lacuna’ contains three new works created in direct dialogue with the artworks that I’ll be presenting at the Ecuador Pavilion, at La Biennale di Venezia 2026.

The point of departure for this upcoming presentation is what I call “planetary orgies”, which is an openness towards the material sensuality from where life on Earth germinates.

‘Lacuna’ is coming into existence as one-time limited edition meant to support the production of these new works.

Created in parallel with Oscar Santillán’s presentation at the Ecuador Pavilion, Venice Biennale.

Lacuna (2026)

A limited edition.

Created in parallel with Oscar Santillán’s presentation at the Ecuador Pavilion, Venice Biennale.

Lacuna (2026)

A limited edition.

It has been discovered that sand traveling all the way from the Sahara Desert is an important nutrient for the Amazon rainforest.

This very speck of earthly reality gave birth to this project.

Precisely, a particle of sand from the Sahara Desert, which scientists found on the opposite side of the world, in the Amazon rainforest, was gathered for Oracle.

This particle has been preserved inside a metal vacuum chamber, a custom-made device meant to protect it for eternity (well, for as close to eternity as a small human being can envision).

Confronted with the near invisibility of this dust particle (smaller than what the naked eye can see), a virtual layer was added: an augmented reality (AR) experience that departs from an actual 3D scan of that very particle.

In this way, visitors can see it at a monumental scale, perhaps like a floating cosmic entity slowly rotating in the midst of the exhibition space.

The cubic chamber is surrounded by three speakers sharing short stories inspired by the research behind the project.

Oracle engages with some of the incredible forces that create life on Earth, and with the epic yet subtle connections we struggle to imagine.

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The work is currently on view at

This is a project by Oscar Santillán, produced by the team at Studio Antimundo.

Production overview and communication: Pedro Castillo and Andrea Galarza
3D Design: Pedro Castillo and René Martínez
AR Programming: Ryan Cherewaty
Sculptural Ex*****on: Oswaldo Bonilla
Script for the Sound Component: Oscar Santillán
Sound Design: José Alejandro (Oído)
Voice: Ivana Farbman

This work was made possible thanks to the support of Stimuleringsfonds and .

Special thanks to the Brazilian scientist Juliana Nogueira and to the Mechanical Engineering Laboratory at USFQ for their openness and generosity.

Here are some thoughts on a topic that is deeply dear to me.
As is the case for so many artists, at some point I began collaborating with scientists. There was no map back then, perhaps only scattered recollections from pioneers who opened this library of endless curiosities to the rest of us.
I’m still searching for other methodologies and to hear about the experiences of other artists who have dived into these waters.
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Illustrations by the incredible early 20th century neurologist, Santiago Ramón y Cajal.