origo

In the sculpture court of the Barbican, its surroundings brutalist with a brick platform, Delcy Morelos‘ origo is both architectural and thing of the earth. The Colombian artist’s continuous, torus-like form invites visitors into one of two portals, placed on opposite sides, through which they can pass into the center of the sculpture’s own courtyard or wander through the tunnel with its peaked ceiling. Not unlike El Abrazo at Dia Chelsea in 2024, there is a pyramidical quality to the soil-cloaked form that draws on ancestral Andean and Amazonian structures.

origo is Latin for “origin,” which one can think of in terms of a source or even a root. Indeed, the fecund mud that Morelos applies to the giant armature one glob at a time is full of tiny roots and myriad kinds of organic matter. The shape, which spans about 79 feet in diameter, is evocative of prehistoric amphitheaters, such as those found at the Caral archaeological area in Peru, which are nearly 5,000 years old. Like the Barbican’s sculpture court, it is a place where a performance or an installation takes place, in which people participate or gather around. The work is also a nod to the monumentality and vulnerability of the earth itself, as if a pristine wedge has been lifted from the ground and positioned here like a relic, a cross-section, a continuum. Is it healthy? Is all as it should be?

To enter origo is to essentially go underground without ever changing elevation. “Its multisensory, immersive environments invite us to convene with soil—the material which sustains all life—and to experience its power,” says a statement. Incorporating a combination of soil and clay, which naturally bakes in the sun, there are also fragrant spices that immerse visitors in a uniquely personal experience with their own associations and memories.

The Barbican is one of London’s most storied buildings and an icon of brutalist style. The estate was built in the mid-to-late 20th century as a kind of “utopic project for communal living” with human experience and interactions at the heart of the design. A theater, gallery, restaurants, a school, and more comprised a kind of all-in-one concept. Its verdant conservatory was conceived as a way to hide an unsightly concrete “stump” of the fly tower belonging to the theater below.

The arts center was always a part of the design, and it used to open directly onto the sculpture court, however upgrades to maintain museum-quality standards for exhibitions meant that this direct access was eventually closed off. For Morelos, the architecture and this sense of oneness steers her approach for origo, emphasizing what she describes as the “the delicate and powerful web of existence.” And it marks the first time that a work has been shown in the sculpture court in a decade.

origo continues through July 31 in London. ✧

All images courtesy of the artist and the Barbican.