Heart of Gold

A collector's impulse governs the surface of this square meter. Hundreds of wooden fragments, cut into grids and rectangles of varying thicknesses, shape a contemporary altarpiece where visual devotion and an intimate archive coexist. The eye finds no immediate rest: it leaps from cell to cell, pulled by the enveloping warmth of a palette dominated by solar yellows, earthy ochres, and carmine sparks that seem to emit their own heat.

The relief is the true orchestrator of the whole. Wood does not function as a mere flat support, but rather as an uneven topographical territory. The blocks project forward and recede from the primary plane, casting tiny, shifting shadows under ambient light. Between clean cuts, bare grain, fluted textures, and superimposed geometric elements, a rhythmic weave is formed that balances visual profusion with an almost cartographic constructive rigor.

An iconographic enigma inhabits each block. Female portraits with veiled or direct gazes dialogue with botanical prints, an open palmistry hand, ceremonial elephants, anthropomorphic suns, and protective signs like the hamsa. There are handwritten pages that remain undeciphered, honeycomb lattices, and decorative motifs that evoke vintage engravings and textile patterns. No single image completely overpowers the others; they operate like notes in a polyphonic score where East and West, the mystical and the domestic, are suspended in an egalitarian hierarchy.

The title suggests a magnetic center, yet that heart of gold is pulverized and scattered across the entire surface. The piece presents itself as a secular reliquary celebrating the endurance of imagery and the affective power of small objects. It demands physical proximity, asking the viewer for slow contemplation, akin to the careful reading of a visual diary in which every single detail keeps a shared secret.