Confinment, Artist´s book, 82 pages, 2020

 

 

Marcello Mercado

Confinment

Artist´s book, 82 pages

2020

 

 

In 2020, amidst the global upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Marcello Mercado produced Confinement, an artist’s book that documents a period of intense isolation through photographs captured in domestic spaces. The images, shot with night vision cameras, focus on seemingly ordinary objects: curtains, chairs, television, food, and the quiet presence of dogs. These images, however, are imbued with a new significance in the context of the pandemic, where the familiar takes on a haunting resonance.

The act of documenting this confinement—where spaces traditionally considered private became arenas for survival and introspection—engages with broader questions about perception, visibility, and the boundaries of private life. As the artist explores these domestic landscapes, the photographs not only capture the physical environment but also reflect the psychological and emotional states induced by isolation. Through this intimate lens, Confinement becomes both a personal archive and a broader commentary on the ways we interact with space and objects under conditions of restriction.

Drawing on the work of theorists and curators who have explored themes of confinement, surveillance, and the transformation of everyday life into a performative act, the book reflects the ways in which contemporary art has responded to the experience of being enclosed within a limited space. The artist’s use of night vision cameras adds an additional layer of tension, as these tools are traditionally used to uncover what is hidden in the darkness, mirroring the way the pandemic forced us to confront the unseen aspects of our own lives and relationships.

Confinement challenges the traditional boundaries between public and private, transforming the personal archive into a form of artistic expression that engages with the historical and contemporary realities of confinement. It is through these images that Mercado invites the viewer to reconsider the nature of space, time, and perception—issues that have been central to contemporary art discourse.

The book is a meditation on the idea of space as both a physical and mental construct, inviting reflections on the fragility of human existence in the face of unseen threats, and the ways in which art can make visible the invisible forces that shape our lives.