Carla Arocha: Underground

Arocha’s exhibition Underground will deal with terrorism, specifically inspired by her reading of Haruki Murakami’s book of the same title about the Sarin poisoning of the Tokyo subway in the mid-1990s. The artist is particularly interested in the effect of Sarin poison on the eyes—an acute contraction of the pupil bars the entrance of light. In previous work, Arocha has explored ocular effects, both optical and biological, relating to patterns. Born in Venezuela, Carla Arocha lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium, and Chicago. She has exhibited her work at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art and has had solo shows in New York, Brussels, Bloomington Hills, and Milwaukee. Current group shows include: an exhibition of Latin American artists curated by Victor Zamudio-Taylor travelling (2001-03) through Brazil, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Mexico, and Spain; Colectiva/OPerativa curated by Tobias Ostrander including Carla Arocha, Ross Bleckner, Polly Apfelbaum, and more at the newly reopened Museo Rufino Tamayo in Mexico City; and The Big Show Part 2 Healing curated by Wim Peeters Part 3 Ideal Home co-curated by Julieta González and Jesús Fuenmayor at NICC, Antwerp. Arocha’s installation HIDE/ROVER is also on view at the MCA, Chicago thru April 2002.