REFLECTIONS ON LIMINAL REALMS

Text by Ernesto León. 

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Carolina Otero's perception of nature and the built environment, revealed through her photographic work and other recent investigations, turns these subjects into immaterial objects. They invite us to a kind of reflection beyond the visible, the immaterial. Her images reveal a world undetectable by reason or straightforward description. Hers is a sensitive and secret universe: a delicate echo of what surrounds us in moments of silence. In this sense, Carolina’s work not only deals with representing the object but also with the photograph’s ability to capture fleeting moments, images frozen in time that would otherwise be lost to memory. Her images of sites and landscapes are dynamic despite the absence of human figures in them. We see, for instance, electric cables lingering in the wind, changing wall textures nuanced according to the hour of the day or a given instant, becoming metaphors of the fragility of existence and the constant change to which nature is subjected.

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This focus on the ephemeral and the immaterial in Carolina’s photographs evokes some of the philosophical reflections of Simone Weil, one of the great thinkers of the 20th century. Weil invites us to consider the importance of mindful attention as a way to perceive the world in its entirety. According to Weil, the act of paying attention is itself a form of prayer, a process of emptying oneself to be able to clearly see what is, what lies beyond appearances. Carolina’s photographs, in this sense, demand our attention not only to see what is presented to us but also to perceive what is not present: the change that follows after the image is taken, the wind that moves the cables, the passage of time that transforms the object. Thus, each photograph is a reflection about impermanence and the power of art to make the ephemeral eternal.

 

The relationship between nature, the object, and the image is also a central theme in Carolina’s work.Through her photographic and drawing explorations, she establishes a dialogue with her inner and external “self.” Carolina creates a space where this duality unfolds in a delicate and pure manner, a dialogue that develops between drawing and photography—two disciplines that in her work seem symmetrical, yet, profoundly distinct. Here, we may recall the feminist philosopher and theorist Luce Irigaray, who proposes that dialogue is essentially a practice of recognizing the “other” as different and, at the same time, as part of oneself. For Irigaray, true dialogue is not a merging of identities but a relationship that respects and celebrates difference. Carolina seems to understand this idea by dividing her “self” between the internal and the external, creating a productive tension that generates a clean reality, yet one loaded with complexity.

 

In her work, Carolina seems to present a visual version of Platonic dialogues, where conversation serves as a tool to unravel deeper truths. However, while Plato used dialogue to teach, Carolina approaches it in an introspective and calm manner. Her “dialogue” does not seek a didactic resolution but rather a poetic visual suggestion. It is a dialogue with the world, with objects, but above all, with herself. This introspection also brings to mind the work of María Zambrano, who developed a “poetic reason,” a form of knowledge that does not limit itself to pure rationality but includes the emotional and the symbolic. For Zambrano, poetry is a way of thinking that allows us to grasp hidden truths, those that cannot be expressed through conventional logic. Like Zambrano, Carolina uses art to explore these truths that reside in the shadows, in what is unsaid, in what is not visible.

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Finally, Carolina’s art does not freeze reality, but keeps it in a state of change, of flow, as if each image were a fragment of something greater that continues to develop beyond what we see. In this sense, we can speak of an art that is not simply visual, but also philosophical in its essence. Carolina, through her introspection, invites us to reflect on the relationship between the internal and the external self, while her acute perception of the immaterial reminds us of the importance of what is unseen, of what can only be captured in a moment of absolute mindfulness. These reflections lead us to a greater understanding of reality—a reality that is not static or closed, but open to dialogue, change, and infinite interpretation.

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In this way, Carolina’s works are inscribed in a long tradition of reflective thought, where attention, dialogue, and introspection are entwined to offer a new way of perceiving and understanding the world. Ultimately, her art reminds us that perception is not simply a matter of seeing but of being able to capture what lies beyond the visible, what can only be understood through deep reflection and connection with the Other.**

 

References:

 

1. Irigaray, Luce. Yo, tú, nosotras: hacia una cultura de la diferencia. Madrid: Cátedra, 1992.

 

2. Zambrano, María. La razón poética. Madrid: Editorial Siruela, 2015.

 

3. Plato. Dialogues.