Abraham Cruzvillegas’s Self Reconstructed Ellipsis comprises three wooden structures based on shelters from Colonia Ajusco, the Mexico City neighborhood in which the artist grew up. The project is linked to his overall practice – a concept he calls ‘Autoconstrucción’ – that deals with history and the construction of the self, gauged according to economic, social, political, and historical conditions.
Referencing the collaborative and improvisatory building tactics often utilized in the neighborhood, the site-specific installation is made from bare timber and raw pieces of wood supporting angled roofs of tarred, fluted cardboard sheets. According to neighborhood residents, these materials were considered the most durable for a temporary shelter which often enough becomes permanent through circumstance.
