O Bestiário

In O Bestiário, Carla Cabanas presents an installation composed of sculptures inspired by the universe of imaginary beings brought together by Jorge Luis Borges in The Book of Imaginary Beings. Among guardian fish, impossible birds, hybrid creatures, and mythical figures, the artist creates a territory where reality and fiction intertwine, continuously expanding a repertoire of forms, stories, and meanings. Each sculpture draws upon pre-existing narratives while simultaneously opening up new possibilities for interpretation through the gaze and experience of each viewer.

Using gold leaf as a metaphor for transformation and repair, in dialogue with the Japanese traditions of wabi-sabi and kintsugi, Carla Cabanas foregrounds imperfection as well as the marks of time, impermanence, and incompleteness. By incorporating photographs from her own family history, she brings these fantastical creatures closer to the human condition, turning them into reflections of our vulnerabilities, memories, and desires. Structured across three interconnected sections, O Bestiário guides audiences through a journey between the strange and the familiar, where the imagination reveals profound affinities with lived experience.