Federico Uribe’s Object Odyssey

By Sophie Coleman / November 16th, 2011 in Art / Miami / 311 views

This new short film produced by Pelicruise Film Group celebrates the uplifting philosophy and magical, vibrant body of work of Federico Uribe, an artist renowned for his deft transformation of banal, everyday objects into fantastical sculptures and installations.

Set amidst his colorful creations, Colombian-born Uribe describes how he started off with traditional, ‘painful’ paintings exploring religion and other serious subjects, before discovering his artistic eureka moment playing around with everyday objects and accessing his ability to use them to create more upbeat, entertaining art forms. As Uribe explains, over time he realized that “celebrating life is better than complaining about it” in art. This philosophy is wholly apparent in his playful, pop-art inspired structures of various animals from zebras, monkeys, elephants and leopards made from leather scraps; right through to human figures constructed entirely out of the humble screw (not to mention his adorable suit adorned with a chicken print).

There’s a clear homage to nature and the beauty in life embodied in his larger-than life, three-dimensional sculptures, a medium which Uribe has chosen to better show the depth and history of subjects he’s so inspired by, such as literary figures made of screws.

According to Uribe, every object you choose—be it a screw, shoelace or piece of leather ripped off a shoe—”says something about you and your confrontation to life”. For him it’s about taking the original meaning and purpose of an object and turning it on its head to create new life. For instance, instead of killing animals to make shoes, he destroys shoes to make animals.

Uribe’s unique way of rethinking reality however is not about making political or eco statements, rather it’s about creating beautiful sculptures with feeling–and ultimately making people smile and happy at the end of the day.

For more of Federico Uribe’s artwork view here. ‘The World according to Federico Uribe’ exhibition is open at the Boca Museum until December 4th, 2011.