At a glance
Eli Cortiñas uses recycled cinematic footage to deconstruct how technology and institutions shape our perception, turning the act of watching into a critique of power.
Meet the artist
Why go
The exhibition offers a rare chance to see how Cortiñas repurposes the cinematic archive. By ditching traditional storytelling for sharp montage, she challenges the systems that control our visual culture.
You'll see
Found footage · Fragmented narration · Large-scale screens · Cinematic archives
Pace of visit
As a screening-led show, the experience depends on the length of the video works and how much time you spend with each installation.
Don't miss
The cinematic archives, which serve as the raw material for Cortiñas to expose the hidden biases within institutional ways of seeing.
Artlovers Tip
Before starting the circuit, check the durations of the individual films to better plan your time across the different screening rooms.
Inside the exhibition
The Machine Dreams of Smoke is a solo exhibition by Eli Cortiñas at the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain. The show features the artist's critical approach to moving images, using recycled footage to examine how technology, cinema, and institutions manufacture and control our visual reality.
Visitors encounter a series of installations built from found footage and fragmented narrations displayed across multiple screens. The works draw heavily from cinematic archives, using media archaeology to peel back the layers of how stories are constructed and power is maintained through the lens.
Cortiñas is recognized for her ability to transform montage into a tool for feminist and political critique. By bringing these works together in Madrid, the exhibition highlights her distinct method of media archaeology, offering a fresh perspective on the relationship between the viewer and the screen.
Worth travelling for?
A sophisticated and intellectually stimulating stop for those interested in video art, feminist theory, and how media shapes our understanding of the world.
The Machine Dreams of Smoke
Artlovers relevance
Plan your visit
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