Adrian Villar Rojas

Images: From the first project studies at the Brick Farm

For his Parkett edition, Adrián Villar Rojas has produced a sculptural object that imitates the natural architecture, applied by the Hornero, one of Argentina’s most iconic national birds. This tiny animal builds its nest by using found materials, fashioning a minute, but thick-walled cave fixed to the higher branches of the typical trees of the Humid Pampa, the central-eastern region of the country.

By returning to the materials–mud and straw–used by the Hornero, and by covering the surface of the reproduced nest with a thin layer of gray clay–the same material the artist uses in all his projects, Villar Rojas relates this laborious bird’s work to his own. The creation of the piece exceeds human efforts, incorporating as it does other species into its fabrication process.

The manual reproduction of a Hornero nest involves not only a deep understanding of this natural builder’s behavior, but also a prolonged engagement with the surrounding environment. The Brick Farm–a research camp on the outskirts of Rosario within the premises of a traditional brickworks–was the location, both geographically and artistically, that made this new investigation possible. It reflects the layered and symbiotic relationships between all living creatures and their environment.

Adrian Villar Rojas’ edition
Parkett Vol. 93