In his most recent exhibition Escombros Ecoantes, presented at MU.SA - Museum of Arts of Sintra, Ticiano explored the concept of ruination as a metaphor for our time. Over four years of research, he collected materials from abandoned factories to create sculptures and assemblages that deal with the cycle of creation and destruction. He explains:

"Escombros Ecoantes emerged from a reflection on the fragility of our current world. We live in challenging times, marked by rising global tensions that expose the cracks in our society. This context of decline led me to connect with the processes of ruination, finding in industrial ruins a symbolic reflection of this civilizational collapse. One of the most striking discoveries during this process was realizing that, as I delved deeper into this universe, I kept encountering philosophical and existential questions linked to the major issues of our time. Ruins, when truly listened to and reflected upon, have a lot to teach us. They reveal a unique perspective on the complexity of the world and the human being, and those who allow themselves to listen to them leave, undoubtedly, enriched, with a deeper understanding of the reality around us.

The works in the show were made with materials collected from abandoned industries on the southern bank of the Tagus in Portugal, and this series of works is titled 'Renascendo entre Escombros: Crônicas sobre um Mundo à Deriva' ('Rising Among Ruins: Chronicles of a World Adrift'). The exhibition builds a narrative that reflects on decay and transformation, exploring concepts like Entropy and Syntropy, as well as the tensions between the Anthropocene and the Symbiocene. The teachings emerging from the silence of the ruins seek to provoke reflection on the social, environmental, and political issues that permeate our society. It’s a way of questioning resistance and fragility, permanence and ephemerality, inviting the viewer to reflect on the constant cycle of life and death. At its core, Escombros Ecoantes is a timeless chronicle, where past, present, and future intertwine. The stories dormant in the ruins become powerful metaphors for transformation and resilience. The exhibition invited the viewer to listen to the echo of these ruins and reflect on the impact of our choices on the world we inhabit, challenging us to rethink our place in this continuous flow of existence.”

In addition to engaging with the past and the present, Ticiano uses his art as a tool for social critique. In Arrenda-se T0 (For Rent T0), one of his most impactful performances, he recreated a micro-apartment and placed it for sale in iconic locations in Lisbon, such as Praça do Rossio, denouncing the housing crisis. “It was a direct provocation. The rent price was absurd, but not much different from what we see in reality. The reaction of people was essential to the work.”

During the performance, the artist embodied a real estate agent trying to “rent” the space for 1,800 euros, highlighting the trivialization of real estate speculation. The act was not authorized by the authorities, which intensified its disruptive power. “On a personal level, this combination of art and acting was a big challenge. I’m naturally shy and introverted, and exposing myself this way, performing in a public space, was a personal exercise of overcoming. Not just because of the performance itself, but because I put myself in an uncomfortable situation, where the direct interaction with the public generated unexpected reactions. Arrenda-se T0 was more than just a work of art; it was a profound experience, both personal and collective, that challenged me to push beyond my own limits and use art as a powerful vehicle to spark urgent and pertinent discussions about social issues.”

MashUp: The relationship between art and public space is very present in your work. How can art transform people's relationship with the city, and what role does it play in preserving collective memory?

Ticiano: I believe that art has the power to transform the way people relate to the city, but I don’t see art as something that transforms immediately on its own. What it does is propose pathways, new ways of looking at and perceiving urban space. When art enters the public space, it creates an opportunity for people to engage more deeply with the environment they inhabit, stimulating a reflection on the city and the social dynamics that run through it.

As for preserving collective memory, I see art as a powerful tool because it can materialize and eternalize stories, feelings, and issues that belong to a specific time and place. Art can be a way of documenting what is forgotten or rendered invisible by official history, serving as a meeting point between the past, the present, and future generations. By interacting with public space, art becomes part of this memory, transmitting and preserving experiences, values, and reflections that help to build the social fabric of a community.

Ticiano Rottenstein’s work is not about nostalgia but about reinvention. By transforming the remains of the industrial world into sculptures and installations, he proposes a new way of looking at what has been discarded. “My art is not just about decay, but about possibilities. I believe that even in collapse, there is space for reconstruction. I transform wreckage into visual narratives, reinterpreting what has been left behind. My goal is not only to highlight collapse but to reveal what can be reborn from it.”

The arrival of fatherhood also made his art even more reflective on fragility and the future, adding a more personal and urgent dimension to his social critique and his search for transformation. “My practice has always had a connection with the more fundamental aspects of human existence, like transience, mourning, and transformation, but fatherhood expanded this. It became impossible not to think about the vulnerability and fragility of the world around me, especially when considering the future of younger generations.”

Among ruins and memories, his work reminds us that the past does not disappear—it transforms, leaving traces for new stories to emerge. Every detail, every reinterpreted fragment, carries a unique narrative, reflecting not only the passage of time but also the strength of art as a tool for questioning and transformation.

Curiosities:

If he could collaborate with any artist, Ticiano would choose Berlinde De Bruyckere and Anselm Kiefer, who explore human fragility, collective memory, and devastation—central themes in his work.

One of the most unusual reactions to his work was when someone said that his art “scared them, but in a good way, as if it were a transformative experience,” which made him reflect on how art can provoke discomfort and reflection. “This perception made me rethink the true role of art. In my view, art is not just something that should please or entertain, but something that should question, provoke, and generate genuine reflection. Art has the power to shake certainties, destabilize our view of the world, and force us to look at things from a different perspective. That 'good fear,' which might seem uncomfortable at first, is actually the seed of transformation—a catalyst for personal and collective change. When we’re confronted with something that destabilizes us, it’s precisely at that moment that we have the opportunity to grow, to understand the world in a more complex way, and to change our perceptions of it. Over time, I’ve come to embrace the idea that art should discomfort us, that it has the ability to push us out of the ordinary and into unexplored territories. If it provokes strangeness, discomfort, or fear, perhaps that’s a sign that we’re being touched in something deep, something that needs to be questioned. Art, for me, serves the purpose of generating an impact, of being an agent of transformation—and, often, that transformation begins with a feeling of fear, because that’s where great changes live.”

The strangest advice he ever received was to simplify his ideas and make them more pleasant to the public, something that further reinforced his belief that art should challenge, question, and provoke change. “Art, to me, doesn’t need to be simplified or 'pleasant' in the conventional sense. Its role is to provoke, question, deconstruct, and often challenge us to see the world from new perspectives. This advice made me reflect on how, sometimes, expectations regarding the audience may want to reduce the complexity and depth of art to something more 'digestible' and easy to understand. However, instead of feeling discouraged or frustrated, this suggestion only reinforced my belief that art doesn’t need—and shouldn’t—be simplified to fit pre-established patterns. True art often carries complexity, tension, and even discomfort, and it’s precisely in this space where the deepest transformations occur.”

PURE JUICE OF ART

Ticiano Rottenstein: Ruins and Debris Transformed into Memories and Art

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