Mexico City (Mexico)
1991 Alan Ríoz Cruz was born and [partially] raised in Mexico City. By the age of 12 he moved to Chicago (IL) in the United States. Then returned to Mexico City to finish high school studies and enroll in Architecture school. During university years, he moved to Seoul (South Korea) for an exchange student program and then returned to Mexico City again to graduate at Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Educations. After graduating Rios Cruz started working in social projects that had to do with co-desing, furniture fabrication and art-related-architecture. In 2017, his atists' collective WASA got selected for the MAK Residence Program (MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House in West Hollywood, LA) to develop the project titled The Machine Is Broken! Which talked about the meaning of home in 2018, more as a state of mind rather than a physical space. Referring to this he will pick up related issues in Krems again as the upcoming work he takes into consideratian for his AIR residency in Lower Austria will be titled
"Privacy - the paradox of our times; we enclose ourselves in four walls and a roof to have privacy, but we use social media to share our lives with the world. We show where we are, what we eat and who we hang out with through a screen. We close our sheers to cover the windows, to open another one and let the outside come inside. Part of the objective of architecture is to provide people shelter and a sense of being disconnected from the outside world, but as time goes by walls are vanishing and keeping us connected 24/7 to everything and everywhere. Do we really need privacy in our lives? Or is just a concept that we use to our own convenience?
During the residency, I want to address how incoherent or complex the concept of privacy can be to our society and even oneself. This would be done through and experimental project or installation using, what I defined as the unit of privacy, a room and mirrors.
The idea is to create a path or way to let the outside come inside the room, just like social media and technology, but without making use of them. This path will be created with mirrors placed strategically, so when someone looks at the mirror he/she will get a glance of the room (depending on their position), to be transported to another space, being physically outside but mentally inside and vice versa." (Alan Ríos Cruz)
Former Works:
2018 "Tapetito Tapetote", Mexico City
2018 "[souvenir of] Bombay Beach", Bombay Beach, CA
2017-2018 "The Machine is Broken!", Los Angeles, CA
2017 "Architecture for Homies", Los Angeles, CA
2017 "[sort of] Open House", Los Angeles, CA
2017 "House MR-0" (Built), Mexico City
2017 "House Cuautla" (Under construction), Cuautla, Morelos
2017 "Embedded Space, Uncertain Encounter" - Pavilion (Built), Mexico City
Website - WASA, Alan Ríos Cruz: www.wasamx.com
The Artist in Residence is an interdisciplinary program for foreign architects, artists, musicians, and writers that was brought to life by the administration of Lower Austria with the intention of stimulating international cultural exchange and intercultural dialogue. Each year, different artists are chosen to receive scholarships.
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