Artist Orlando Estrada’s solo exhibition in South Beach builds ‘shrine’ to the city
Inside a former True Religion jeans store on South Beach lies a shrine to Miami and its impending doom. The exhibition — “The Infinite Vision in the Ethereal Rainbows Swarming Behind my Eyelids Reveals a Beacon” — by New York and Miami-based artist Orlando Estrada is on view from April 27 to June 10 at 644 Collins Avenue.
Estrada prepared the show during a month-long residency with Waterproof Miami, a curatorial partnership between the nonprofits Bas Fisher Invitational and Bridge Initiative. The effort joins art and science to increase awareness about environmental issues facing South Florida.
“Miami is kind of the canary in the coal mine,” said Estrada, who grew up in the city. “It will be one of the first major cities that will have to deal with the effects of climate change. But we have this sense of ‘whatever, we’ll deal with it tomorrow.’”
The exhibition’s centerpiece calls on viewers to deal with it today. Titled “Tiered Panorama,” Estrada crafted a rotating, multi-level landscape inspired by the elaborate ornamental Christmas villages his Puerto Rican grandmother made each year. But Estrada’s makeshift village leans away from the idyllic and toward the sinister.
The miniature houses he constructed out of his recycling during the first few months of lockdown in New York are interspersed with cutout flames. Glitter and artificial pearls catch the light, making the piece glow.
The two-tiered diorama is littered with found objects — plastic flowers, cellphones, tooth brushes — not unlike the detritus you might find after a natural disaster. Estrada used a 3D printer to create skulls and bodies that are strewn throughout. The work calls to mind the projects that science teachers often assign to students learning about the impact of hurricanes; the lesson usually ends with the small, model cities wiped out by water.
“This piece is about Miami,” Estrada said. “I describe it as a shrine to the city. I want to create climate consciousness and raise awareness about the vulnerability of the city.”
The exhibition space was provided by Miami Beach’s Open House program and Goldman Properties. The program launched late last year to fill vacant storefronts with art.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: “The Infinite Vision in the Ethereal Rainbows Swarming Behind my Eyelids Reveals a Beacon,” by Orlando Estrada.
WHERE: 644 Collins Avenue
WHEN: April 27 to June 10, Thursday to Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. by appointment.
CONTACT: thebasfisher@gmail.com