Xavier Robles de Medina
In The Realm of Translation

In the realm of translation is a bas-relief sculpture created by Surinamese artist Xavier Robles de Medina. Measuring 44 × 33 × 8 cm, the sculpture was first crafted using plasticine, a material commonly used in animation and visual effects studios. The sculpture is a translation of drawings, which in turn were translations of collages of hair photography. By cutting the advertisements into squares and piecing them together, the artist was able to create fields of flowing hair that form the basis for the consequent drawings and sculptures. The original plasticine sculpture took five months to refine and was finally made into a graphite cast in London in 2018. The use of graphite unifies the piece with Robles de Medina’s extensive body of graphite drawings developed between 2014 and 2020. The work is deeply meditative and layered, following the rhetoric of most of Robles de Medina’s work.

The work draws inspiration from the canonical essay “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” by Walter Benjamin. The title of the sculpture itself cites the essay, which explores how the technological advancements of the modern era have affected the creation and consumption of art. The use of graphite in the sculpture unifies it with Robles de Medina’s extensive body of graphite drawings developed between 2014 and 2020. The artist’s choice of material also reflects Benjamin’s ideas on the reproducibility of art in the age of mechanical reproduction. In his essay, Benjamin argues that the traditional aura of an artwork, which is the sense of authenticity and uniqueness that comes from seeing it in person, has been replaced by a new kind of aura that is based on its reproducibility.

In this context, Robles de Medina’s use of a mass-produced process using a silicone mould and casting techniques speaks to the transformative power of mechanical reproduction. By using this technology to create something entirely unique, the artist challenges our assumptions about what art is and how it should be made. At the same time, the time and craft that went into sculpting the original emphasizes the importance of the handmade, and of slowing down the process of art making.