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PAULVANBLASTER


BIO

Paulvanblaster, an alias for Pablo Encinas Alonso, is an artist and architect based between Madrid and Gothenburg His enquiry lies at the intersection of spatial theory and practice. Trained in Spain and Sweden, he holds degrees in both Architecture and Fine Art.


Most recent projects include: OLIVIA for GIBCA Extended, within the Gothenburg International Biennial of  Contemporary Art, in November 2023. The design of An Amniotic Device installation for the piece [ASMR] Reading You To Sleep. Soft Spoken Relaxation About Affective Capitalism (2020) by artist Gloria López Cleries for the ongoing exhibition Happily Ever After at Malmö Konstmuseum, October 2023 — March 2024. In December 2023, Pablo was invited to collaborate on a piece for artist Jason Bowman's Talk to the Hand show, at Gallery Cora Hillebrand, Gothenburg. Encinas´s project Selfhealth Universe (2023), exhibited at Göteborg Konsthall, was awarded the Eric Ericsons Stiftelse 2023.


His practice explores reciprocal relations between individuals and institutional structures, the private and the public, employing interdisciplinary spatial methods such as mapping,drawing,performing or prototyping.
 

Encinas has presented his work at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. He has also been involved in various pedagogical initiatives, including organizing art, architecture, and design workshops and conferences in Fredericia (Denmark 2017), Rijeka (Croatia 2018), Villars sur Ollon (Switzerland 2019), Valga (Estonia 2020), Palanga (Lithuania 2022), Isosaari (Finland 2021).


His contributions have been featured in exhibitions, film festivals, and publications, showcasing his practice in art, design, and collective endeavors.




NODES

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THE MIGRANT SAUNA

In 2014, RAUMLABOR's allmänna bastun in Frihamnen opened a space that not only physically transformed the surroundings, but also brought the community together, acting as a symbol of change and refreshment in the city, in line with Gothenburg's upcoming urban transformation.

In 2023, allmänna bastun which once responded to the reality of the city is now temporarily closed for renovations.

Meanwhile, The Migrant Sauna is emerging parallel to this limbo as a participatory workshop in the context of a new development phase in the city of Gothenburg. Participants create characters that collectively shape the narrative of a mobile sauna pavilion, resulting in a collective fiction that migrates into the city. The project involves DIT and 'position-borrowing' methods to produce a space while discussing taboos and dismantling myths around the local and the foreign.


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