The fragile look: On Lua Ribeira´s Subida al cielo [Ascent into Heaven ]

Abstract

The act of looking, as we know it, is neither naïve nor neutral, it is not even a natural organ, and it seems to be an unavoidable function, even though it is often held with pins between the eyelids. Separating the visible and the invisible, there is no longer just a tension or an opposition, but rather an immense screen that slides open anywhere and allows us to see everything, absolutely everything. Indeed, the power of sight is granted as the world’s machinery is available all the time, but images last just fractions of a second, in a constant and fleeting acceleration to make way for the continuous impression between static and continuous movement, that often results in a chaotic balance, caught up in an almost indistinctive loop. The question now seems to be not so much about what we see, but on how we take a closer look at something, in a way that gives us a lasting perception more than the insistence of a visual habit and more than the obsession with an adaptive custom. What is intended to be seen or not seen, the things that go unseen, whatever forces the eyes to see what we do not want to see, forms part of the visual landscape as much as the banality of the preconceived image. Attempting to look at what parades before us in complete harmony and total satisfaction, is not only impossible, but, worse still, in a way it is cruel and indifferent, or it is cruel by its very indifference.