In Reflexive Spaces / Narcissi, Manuel Calderón explores the intersection of traditional drawing and digital imagery, merging physical and virtual spaces into a single plane. The work consists of a series of drawings depicting a subject—once again a self-portrait—gazing intently at his reflection in the water. The figure is meticulously rendered in pencil on paper, while his reflection appears on a screen placed behind the drawing, visible through a cut in the surface. This integration creates the illusion of continuity between the static image and the moving video.
The video loop shows the same subject reflected in a pool of water, where the organic movement of the ripples subtly distorts his image. Initially conceived as a spatial experiment—contrasting the bidimensionality of drawing with the dynamic properties of digital space—the work gradually deepened into a meditation on self-perception. The man contemplating his reflection directly evokes the myth of Narcissus, lost in admiration of his own beauty. In contemporary society, marked by vanity and self-obsession, the screen replaces the water’s surface, capturing our gaze and reinforcing our fixation on our own image.
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