Iván Argote: Antipodo

Antipodo is both a continuation of the traditional trope of public statues and a subversion of this historic genre. With his sculpture, artist Iván Argote references historic records and depictions of people living “on the other side of the earth”. This source material shows that, throughout the ages, those living opposite from us where often treated with a certain apprehension. The word antipode (anti—opposite, pode—feet) emerged in Ancient Greece to designate a territory on the other side of the world. During the Middle Ages, the sense of the word changed and was interpreted as “with opposite feet”. Curiously, characters with inverted feet also appear in pre-Columbian mythologies, like the Brazilian Curupira, a jungle guardian whose inverted feet are used to deceive colonizers in the forest. In geography, the antipode of a place on Earth designates the point diametrically opposite to it.

“Public art makes tangible in the city, in our daily lives, questions about how we relate and represent ourselves, as individuals and as a society. As an artist it is fundamental for me to ask these questions outside, to share them with the public gaze and debate. It is therefore an honor for me to have been invited for the annual PUBLIC FIGURE commission. My sculpture, Antipodo, is a symbol of complexity that speaks with resilience about the relations of power and representation between the global north and south.” —Iván Argote

Argote’s bronze figure, gender ambiguous and visibly sculpted out of clay, walks graciously forward (or backwards?), onto (or off?) the pedestal. Head held high, the figure exhumes pride and joyfulness. They look ahead, yet walk away. This multitude of directions, intentions, and perspectives is also at play in the context of the park where Antipodo remains on view for one year. In the park, people of all walks of life cross paths, heading in different directions but walking on the same Earth.

Iván Argote was born in 1983 in Colombia, and lives and works in Paris, France. Questions of public space, historical narratives, and monumentality are central to Argote’s work and research.

Antipodo marks the fourth iteration of PUBLIC FIGURE, an annual commission where contemporary artists create a new public work responding to the question “Who are what do we put on a pedestal today?” Each commissioned work is presented for the duration of one year on an abandoned historic pedestal in Antwerp’s Municipal Park (Stadspark). Previous editions featured works by Tramaine de Senna (2020, acquired for the Public Art Collection), Goshka Macuga (2021, acquired for the Public Art Collection), and Mekhitar Garabedian (2023).

Antipodo was produced by Art Casting.
PUBLIC FIGURE is curated by Samuel Saelemakers.

The Antwerp Public Art Collection (Collectie Kunst in de Stad) is a municipal arts and heritage organisation tasked with the development, research and conservation of the city’s collection of monuments, statues and other artworks in public space. This collection spans five centuries and includes over 260 unique objects, including 19th-century statues, modern and contemporary artworks, and commemorative monuments to the first and second World War as well as Belgium’s colonial history. These monuments are the subject of current and ongoing academic investigation and artistic reflection. The Antwerp Public Art Collection commissions new permanent artworks across the city, but also programs temporary projects that challenge and expand our understanding of art and public space in today’s western European urban realm.

The Antwerp Public Art Collection operates from within the Middelheim Museum, an open-air museum showcasing modern and contemporary art amidst a green park setting where the interplay between art and nature results in exceptional experiences.

Team: Lucie Bausart (Collection Manager), Samuel Saelemakers (Curator), Sara Weyns (Director)