Through her experimentation with materials and detritus and her dissection of accumulated layers of history, Leyla Cárdenas’s work is sculptural without making objects, deferring to destruction as a method of assembling new narratives—thereby re-envisioning familiar spaces.

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Leyla has used remnants from the demolition of several walls from the renovation to examine the history of the space.

Using a multi-pronged process of peeling away the layers of paint from wooden baseboards and drywall, Leyla reveals remnants of color and language that were present in past exhibitions. She also embarked on a research journey deeper into the history of the site of the new DV, leading her back to the birth of the very building itself. The image of the Pacific Building being demolished to make way for the new MDC building in 1972 sets the historic point of departure as she references the layers of paint throughout the space. The result is a poetic use of archaeological like fragments reengaging with history through a new narrative.

Heavily returning reference for my research paper.