Erick Beltrán lives and works in Barcelona, Spain. Beltrán analyses and reflects on the mechanisms of thought systems, specifically the relationship of power that exists between the editing process and ways of constructing knowledge.
2021 Biennial Year Find out more
Working with diverse media, such as publication, lecture-performance and installation, Beltrán experiments with the link between public art and diverse graphic languages, investigating the museum, library and the archive as forms of knowledge. Recent exhibitions include Volt, Norway (2019); La Tallera, Mexico (2018); Espacio Odeón, Colombia (2018); and Cuenca Bienal, Ecuador (2018).
Liverpool Biennial 2021
'Superposition'
Erick Beltrán presented ‘Superposition’ (2021), a set of graphical drawings and corresponding sound pieces in taxi cabs around Liverpool, as well as at The Lewis’s Building. Beltrán’s work revolves around his interpretation of forms and figures, which is informed by his research into the intersection between multiple paradigms – Cumbia music, proprioception, quantum physics, the primordial state, the psychopomp and collective psyche. Hinged on his deconstruction of Cumbia, Beltrán brings to the fore that there are multiple ways of being in the world beyond the conventional understanding of the individual. In this work, the existence is interpreted by the body through ripples and rhythm – pulling and drawing people in as though they are possessed. Once the unit is overflowed
Erick Beltrán presented ‘Superposition’ (2021), a set of graphical drawings and corresponding sound pieces in taxi cabs around Liverpool, as well as at The Lewis’s Building. Beltrán’s work revolves around his interpretation of forms and figures, which is informed by his research into the intersection between multiple paradigms – Cumbia music, proprioception, quantum physics, the primordial state, the psychopomp and collective psyche. Hinged on his deconstruction of Cumbia, Beltrán brings to the fore that there are multiple ways of being in the world beyond the conventional understanding of the individual. In this work, the existence is interpreted by the body through ripples and rhythm – pulling and drawing people in as though they are possessed. Once the unit is overflowed with a multi-layered presence, it transforms into a state that is visually a kin to a kaleidoscopic pattern. Different types of ontological frameworks and velocities are central to this narrative, including our perception of frequency, harmonics, bodily knowledge and dream states. Commissioned by Liverpool Biennial. Supported by Patronato de Arte Contemporáneo, P.A.C., Embassy of Mexico in the United Kingdom and Com Cabs.
'Superposition'
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Erick Beltrán, Superposition, 2021. Installation view in ComCab Taxi, Liverpool Biennial 2021. Photography: Rob Battersby
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Erick Beltrán, Superposition, 2021. Installation view in ComCab Taxi, Liverpool Biennial 2021. Photography: Rob Battersby
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Erick Beltrán, Superposition, 2021. Installation view at Lewis's Building, Liverpool Biennial 2021. Photography: Rob Battersby
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Erick Beltrán, Superposition, 2021. Installation view at Lewis’s Building, Liverpool Biennial 2021. Photography by Mark McNulty
Erick Beltrán – Superposition
Take a taxi ride into an alternate world within the city of Liverpool, where the Cumbian beat of Latin American music intersects with primordial forces.
Presented across a fleet of Liverpool’s ComCab taxis, Erick Beltrán’s Superposition (2021) uses sound and graphical drawings to see the body move through ripples and rhythms as a way of reflecting on different forms of being and coming together, beyond the conventional understanding of the individual. He deconstructs Cumbia music – rhythm from Latin America – by bringing together ideas of proprioception (the body’s ability to perceive its own position in space), quantum physics, Psychopomp (spirits that escort souls to the afterlife), and collective psyche. Different types of knowledge and velocities are central to this narrative, including our perception of frequency, harmonics, bodily knowledge and dream states.
To make a booking call ComCab Taxis on 0151 298 2222 (normal phone and taxi rates apply). Available throughout Liverpool Biennial, the full Superposition commission, combining lights and music alongside the graphic designs, can be experienced across 5 taxis, while on display across the tip-seats of an additional 30 taxis are Beltrán’s graphic designs, complete with QR codes providing access to the accompanying audio.
Supported by Patronato de Arte Contemporáneo, P.A.C., Embassy of Mexico in the United Kingdom and Com Cabs.
You can now listen to these audios below.