Oidoidoido (White)

Iván Navarro was born in 1972, just months after a coup in Chile, and grew up under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet until he moved to New York in 1997. After relocating to the U.S., Navarro became captivated by American minimalism and design, which inspired him to create electrical sculptures. He has continued to produce works using the mesmerizing illusions created by neon lights, mirrors, and glass.

Navarro’s use of light sources like neon, fluorescent lamps, and LEDs is deeply rooted in his childhood experiences in 1970s Chile, during Pinochet’s military rule. Pinochet implemented curfews and frequent power outages as a means of controlling and surveilling the population, effectively using “light” as a tool of oppression. Having grown up in this dark historical period, Navarro came to see light as a symbol of hope, which became a central theme in his artistic practice.

Oidoidoido (White), resembling the form of a drum, is part of a series that began in 2013 as a collaborative sound-sculpture performance with band vocalists and other artists. The Spanish word oído means “ear” or “hearing organ,” hinting at the piece’s origins in sound-based performance. Inside the drum, the word “Oidoidoido” is repeatedly inscribed in a circular formation, endlessly reflected through optical illusion, creating the impression of sound being infinitely drawn into the ear. Navarro masterfully intertwines visual, linguistic, and auditory elements, infusing his work with synesthetic and playful messages that invite multiple interpretations.