Roberto Uribe Castro
Artist Statement
As part of the one-day residency program at The Watch a historically preserved watchtower that once stood in the no man’s land of the Berlin Wall, I’ll be presenting a snapshot of ongoing research on Architectures of Exclusion. This research explores different archetypes of buildings and architectural features that have been used to separate, divide, expel, control or imprison, in contrast to architecture that shelters, protects, and creates spaces for exchange and communication. The research is largely inspired by Michel Foucault’s Discipline & Punish, where the French philosopher analyzes systems of punishment and social control, drawing on the ideas of British philosopher Jeremy Bentham, the creator of the panopticon, a model for institutional surveillance.
Biography
Roberto Uribe is an architect and artist who graduated from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá and the Weißensee Academy of Art in Berlin. He has conducted research and advised on urban planning in Bogotá, and worked on private residences in Amsterdam and Berlin. His artistic practice began with a Master's in Spatial Strategies, focusing on cities, architecture, and space as historical documents. Uribe creates installations that often alter urban elements to explore political and historical dialogues. He has received significant recognition, including a Berlin Senate research grant, and co-founded the NGO CC_Berlin to improve living conditions in rural Mexico and Colombia