Mabel Poblet

Caught in the Intricacies of Being and Appearing

From a capsule in blue “outcrops,” a flagrant red, wearing a shining epidermis that rather seems to stick, or rather submitted, to the designs of multiple images. Reiteration, a suspected legacy of silkscreen printing; the quasi-naked body, without delving into erotic interpretations; and the visual and semantic stridency of color, are features standing out upon the art piece from the series Desapariencia by Mabel Poblet (NT: A word game from the author’s intention in Spanish: Dis-appearance). A series extended through time, from which the artist has offered diverse solutions.

On this occasion, on the translucent background of a swimming pool, it seems, paradoxically, that the artist, turned into a model par excellence of this artistic work and a large part of her devotion, moves along into a restful posture. However, her identity does not transcend, her face –this time– is no concern. Is she just a subject transformed into an inert object for its creation’s sake? Is it an apparent game where the “I” is just transmuted into a “you,” rather into him or her, and ultimately, into “us?”

This transition can be seen in Mabelita’s career since her debut with Lugar de origen (Place of origin), a series in which self-referential discourse was unavoidable, explicit, and intentional. However, an expanded universe of foreign stories and experiences, perhaps shared by temporary conjunctures or by the simple human condition that unites us, has allowed Mabel Poblet, in further art works, to expand her scope in the tropological domain.

Desapariencia is then one of those series where the young creator coexists symbols, concerns and knowledge already apprehended. Thus, to the inherent connotations of color, particularly the red one as the seal of its aesthetic proposals, there is an addition of questions about identity, about its own image, which through vestments, compulsion or complacency; we convey by resembling stereotypes we just echo. Essence, subjectivity and individuality are then put at risk.

Finally, or at first sight, the hedonistic imprint, handcrafted essentially, but in technological appearance on the aesthetic outcome. The image thus denotes expertise, talent, know-how and good taste of those who manage to convey, from the beauty of a flower and from chromatism or composition, strong messages, as this one alone, in terms of identity, social dogmas which bring weariness, laceration and ultimately, strip the human condition from us.

–Indira Carrillo