Overview

The more an event is remembered, the greater the difference between the memory and the original event.

Pablo Mercado is a renowned artist whose work focuses on the exploration of human memory and the brain processes involved in the creation and retrieval of memories. His artistic practice becomes a platform for connecting contemporary neuroscientific theories with the field of visual arts.      Mercado's work focuses on human memory and how the brain processes it. He is particularly interested in fragmentation and recomposition, as well as the errors that occur in this reconstruction. In his recent work he tries to mix science, psychology and visual arts.
Works
  • Inconsistency IX
    Pablo Mercado
    Inconsistency IX, 2023
    30 x 40 x 6 cm
  • Inconsistency VIII
    Pablo Mercado
    Inconsistency VIII, 2023
    40 x 28 x 18 cm
  • Inconsistency VII
    Pablo Mercado
    Inconsistency VII, 2023
    185 x 185 x 20 cm
    Series: Inconsistencia
  • Inconsistencia VI
    Pablo Mercado
    Inconsistencia VI, 2023
    300 x 50 x 50 cm
    Series: Inconsistencia
  • Inconsistency III
    Pablo Mercado
    Inconsistency III, 2023
    60 x 50 x 10 cm
    Series: Locke's skin
  • Leteo
    Pablo Mercado
    Leteo, 2023
    Installation composed of water glasses suspended and grouped following the shapes obtained from the fMRI. Each glass has a different amount of water inside but they are suspended in such a way that the water level in each glass is at the beginning of the exhibition forming a perfect horizontal line with the rest. As time passes and the water evaporates, the original horizontal line is broken. The water in the glasses comes from the plot of land where his father was born. In this way Mercado speaks of the impossibility of controlling the details of stored memory, since every time we remember we are modifying that memory. And of the fragile balance that exists between remembering, reconstructing and reinterpreting.
  • Fragmented sustitution II
    Pablo Mercado
    Fragmented sustitution II, 2022
    Cement and linen
    40 x 30 cm
    Series: La piel de Locke
  • Fragmented sustitution III
    Pablo Mercado
    Fragmented sustitution III, 2022
    Cement and linen
    40 x 30 cm
    Series: La piel de Locke
  • Fragmented sustitution IV
    Pablo Mercado
    Fragmented sustitution IV, 2022
    Cement, linen and resin
    40 x 30 cm
    Series: La piel de Locke
  • Fragmented sustitution VI
    Pablo Mercado
    Fragmented sustitution VI, 2022
    Cement, linen and resin
    40 x 30 cm
    Series: La piel de Locke
  • Inconsistency I
    Pablo Mercado
    Inconsistency I, 2022
    Oil on linen and wood with nail
    30 x 40 cm
    Series: La piel de Locke
  • Inconsistency II
    Pablo Mercado
    Inconsistency II, 2022
    Oil on linen and wood, with rope
    40 x 50 x 37cm
    Series: La piel de Locke
  • Inconsistency VI
    Pablo Mercado
    Inconsistency VI, 2022
    Oil on linen and wood, with rope
    40 x 50 cm
    Series: La piel de Locke
  • Locke I
    Pablo Mercado
    Locke I, 2022
    Linen on wood
    200 x 135 cm
    Series: La piel de Locke
  • Locke II
    Pablo Mercado
    Locke II, 2022
    Linen on wood and marbel
    200 x 135 cm
    Series: La piel de Locke
  • Locke's skin II
    Pablo Mercado
    Locke's skin II, 2022
    Oil on linen
    40 x 30 cm
    Series: La piel de Locke
  • Memory degradation 2
    Pablo Mercado
    Memory degradation 2, 2021
    Pencil, paper, wood and glass
    93 x 85 cm
  • Fragmented memory III
    Pablo Mercado
    Fragmented memory III, 2020
    Mixed media
    154 x 87 x 100 cms
    Series: Fragmented memory
  • Your stain in my skin IX
    Pablo Mercado
    Your stain in my skin IX, 2020
    Oil on linen
    130 x 130 cms
    Series: Your stain in my skin
  • Your stain in my skin V
    Pablo Mercado
    Your stain in my skin V, 2020
    Oil on linen
    130 x 160 cms
    Series: Your stain in my skin
  • Your stain in my skin VII
    Pablo Mercado
    Your stain in my skin VII, 2020
    Oil on linen
    130 x 162 cms
    Series: Your stain in my skin
  • Your stain in my skin IX
    Pablo Mercado
    Your stain in my skin IX, 2020
    Oil on linen
    50 x 70 cms
    Series: Your stain in my skin
  • Now
    Pablo Mercado
    Now, 2017
    Video Installation
    600 x 700 x 850 cm
  • Limb of Theseus, David
    Pablo Mercado
    Limb of Theseus, David, 2016
    Oil on canvas
    80 x 80 cms
    Series: Limb of Theseus
  • Limb of Theseus, Karen
    Pablo Mercado
    Limb of Theseus, Karen, 2016
    Oil on canvas
    80 x 80 cms
    Series: Limb of Theseus
  • Krapp's memory
    Pablo Mercado
    Krapp's memory, 2015
    Video Installation
    300 x 300 x 750 cm
  • Fragmented memory
    Pablo Mercado
    Fragmented memory, 2014
  • Fragmented memory II
    Pablo Mercado
    Fragmented memory II, 2014
    Mixed media
    120 x 120 cms
    Series: Fragmented memory
  • Rot
    Pablo Mercado
    Rot, 2012
    Oil on canvas
    100 x 100 cms
Biography
Mercado's work focuses on human memory and how the brain processes it. He is particularly interested in fragmentation and recomposition, as well as the errors that occur in this reconstruction. He tries to mix science, psychology and visual arts in his recent work.

Pablo Mercado (Antequera, 1983) is a visual artist whose work focuses on the exploration of human memory and the cognitive processes involved in the creation and retrieval of memories. His artistic practice bridges contemporary neuroscience theories with visual arts, emphasizing fragmentation, recomposition, and the errors that occur during memory reconstruction. Mercado's work seeks to illustrate how memories are not static but are restructured and updated each time they are recalled.

He studied Fine Arts at the University of Seville and the Accademia di Belle Arti Pietro Vannucci in Perugia, Italy. He also completed a Master’s in Art, Creation, and Research at the Complutense University of Madrid. Mercado has participated in numerous international exhibitions in countries such as Italy, Germany, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. Between 2013 and 2017, he was invited to complete several artist residencies in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and Spain, before settling in Spain in 2018.

 

His work often involves the disassembly and reconstruction of everyday objects linked to memory and human experience. Mercado deconstructs these objects, reassembling them in altered forms, which symbolizes the brain’s process of memory reconstruction. His artistic approach merges science, psychology, and visual arts to create immersive experiences that challenge the way we perceive memory.

 

Mercado’s individual exhibitions include Between Pain and Nothingness (2020) at Isolina Arbulu Gallery in Spain, Onna Bugeisha (2017) in Japan, and Holographic Memories (2015) in Taiwan. His works are a part of several prestigious residencies and exhibitions, including Suspension (2013) in Berlin and Emergentes 2 (2017) in Portugal. Through his innovative method, Mercado continues to push the boundaries of how memory and the human brain intersect with contemporary visual art.

 
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  • Pablo Mercado le arranca la piel al lienzo para no olvidar

    Pablo Mercado

    Periodico El Sur
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