Seth Wulsin is a 26-year-old artist from Spring Valley, New York currently living in Buenos Aires. One of his recent and well-known works is an on-going project that he began upon his arrival a year and a half ago at Caseros prison. Channeling light and space he created images of faces of the prisoners on the walls of the prison, where inmates were starved of natural sunlight amongst other human rights violations. His current art project consists of seven geometrical structures made of mirrors.
What were your first art projects from childhood?
I drew a lot of horses and cowboys.
Do you play any instruments?
Guitar and I played violin for a long time. I played in a band, Wild Bone for a couple of years.
Favourite colour?
Changes all the time. Sometimes it’s red, sometimes it’s blue, sometimes black, sometimes yellow. (Continues to name the colours of the rainbow)
Favourite artist?
Richard Serra is probably the artist I look to the most.
Talent you’d most like to have?
That’s hard…tightrope walking.
Favourite place in Buenos Aires?
There’s a little plaza in Parque Patricios, Plaza Jose C. Paz. There’s something about it, it feels like autumn all the time there.
Favourite Argentine expression?
‘Barbaro’
Favourite food in Argentina?
Meat and empanadas.
What do you miss most about the United States?
American breakfast. Family and friends. I’m going now to visit for a month.
What are you looking forward to eating when you go to the US?
Seafood. My mom just moved to Cape Cod so I will be eating a lot of fried oysters.
How does it make you feel that they are tearing down the prison?
There are moments when I am sad. I worry if I missed certain aspects of the documentation. I’m filming the demolition. But actually it’s more of a liberating feeling.
What’s the name of your latest art project?
In English it’s ‘Time Drops in Decay,’ a line from a Yeats poem. In Spanish it’s ‘Pozos, Tumbas, Horcas’. Pozos means wells or holding cells, tumba is a tomb but it’s also slang for prison and horcas are gallows.
What are you going to do with them?
The pozos are going to be floating in water, the ocean maybe. The tumbas will be buried in the street so that people come across them and catch glimpses into this infinite space, and the horcas will be suspended from lamp posts.
Where are you going to put them?
In strategic locations so they have the best chance of reaching far off continents.
How long are you going to stay in Buenos Aires?
I don’t know. Definitely until the Caseros demolition is complete.
Next place you would like to go to?
Colombia, China, Mongolia, Russia or Berlin. I’ll go to them in some order. I wouldn’t mind going to Italy either, but I’ll save that for later.