Make the Time: Oscar Muñoz in Paris

If you are fortunate enough to visit Paris within the next week, make a point of seeing “Oscar Muñoz: Protographies” at Jeu de Paume.

Muñoz, the emblematic artist from Colombia, investigates the capacity images have to preserve memory. The artist explores the medium of photography in fascinating ways to discover what leaves an impression on the psyche.

Many are familiar with Muñoz for his use of unconventional supports, such as plastic shower curtains. In his series on Narciso (en proceso), Muñoz printed photographic images on water encased in Plexiglas to illustrate the allegory of an individual’s progress through life from birth to death, which appears as the images materialize on water and then turn to dust after the water evaporates. The faces that emerge on the water and in dry form reveal the process of distortion and retention in memory. They also convey the death of an image.