Norton Maza

Opens Saturday, May 9

“The more globalized we are, the higher the walls grow, and to cross them one must become objects, disguise oneself as electrodomestics to reach the destination; it’s as if one renounces the condition of being alive in order to have value. That is the Inter-Reality of today.”

—Norton Maza

Inter-Reality, a new immersive and multisensory installation by Chilean artist Norton Maza, curated by Dermis León and Marisa Caichiolo, has been selected to represent Chile at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.

The project brings together diverse audiences and collective forms of knowledge around a critical reflection on truth, coexistence, and the fragmentation of reality. Inter-Reality unfolds within a productive tension between the large scale installation and materiality that plays between the real and the simulation. Through illusion, simulacrum, and multiple perspectives – central to Maza’s long-standing practice rooted in Western classical and Baroque traditions – the work articulates a complex perceptual field that challenges fixed viewpoints.

Conceived as a shared spatial environment rather than a single sculptural object, Inter-Reality proposes a slower rhythm of perception and an expanded sense of time, moving beyond binary oppositions and enabling a layered, immersive experience. Through a large-scale architectural framework and a constellation of visual and auditory elements, the artwork invites visitors to navigate shifting viewpoints, encouraging reflection on memory and the relationship between power, truth, and freedom.

Developed in Santiago de Chile, Inter-Reality addresses global issues from a situated South American perspective, including migration, ecological crisis, geopolitical war-conflicts, disinformation, and political tensions. The project opens a space for critical, ethical, and collective dialogue, exemplifying Norton Maza’s collaborative practice through the integration of original music, advanced technologies, and hyperrealistic elements to create a shared, reflective environment.

The project was chosen through an open call organized by Chile’s Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, in recognition of its curatorial strength, artistic excellence, and technical feasibility.

Chile’s participation in the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia is the result of the inter-institutional collaboration between the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, through its Executive Secretariat for Visual Arts, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, via the Division of Cultures, Arts, Heritage and Public Diplomacy (DIRAC), together with the Embassy of Chile in Italy.

Commissioner: Florencia Loewenthal

Curators: Marisa Caichiolo, Dermis Pérez León