We are very pleased to present Uma noite perigosa na ilha de Vulcano, a solo exhibition by Darks Miranda (Fortaleza, 1985) in Aquário, the front space at Carpintaria dedicated to new voices in the contemporary art circuit. A multidisciplinary artist working across experimental filmmaking and sculpture, Darks presents a set of four three-dimensional works in dialog with the video that shares the exhibition’s title.

Uma noite perigosa na ilha de Vulcano (2022) was edited from landscape scenery extracted from old science-fiction films, suggesting the scenery from whence the artist’s sculptures might have emerged. At the same time, these works seem like props from the collected films – beings made of prosthetic materials, camouflaged with feathers, latex, resin and spray paint. This interplay between the sculptures and the video is at the heart of the exhibition and reveals an archeological dimension: Darks Miranda rummages through cinema archives, mixing them together with the production of counterfeit materials from an interplanetary civilization.

Uma das sete luas que verá quando beber o veneno verde de João Carpinteiro (2022), is a sculpture that aludes to the filmaker John Carpenter. The wall object lies between a mirror, corroded by toxic material, and a sidereal body. Pança e frutas terraforme (2022) also appears made of an unknown substance, a metallic puddle whose liquid aspect counteracts its heavy bronze casting. The melted contours of these last works then shift into the totem-like verticality of Neblina (2022) and O Segundo Pássaro (2022), two sculptures made from various synthetic materials. The first reminds one of an alien monolith, while the second is an ambiguous form sitting between a mythical bird, an object of ritual worship and a feathered spaceship. These works’ temporal register is indetermined – within what the artist calls “science-fiction of the past” – and they seem to spring from a parallel dimension.