Bowman Hal presents uːː ɡʊɾːuː uːː ɡʊɾːuː, the first solo exhibition by Ampparito (Nacho Nevado, Madrid, 1991) at SOLO CSV, our space in Cuesta de San Vicente 36, Madrid. Conceived not as a conventional exhibition but as a ‘conceptu al trompe-l’œil’ , the exhibition brings elements commonly found on the streets of Madrid — and equally familiar in any European capital — into the gallery, using humour to offer a different perspective on both the space and the city. On view from 17 September to 21 November, the works transform the space into a playground for visitors’ imaginations.
THE CITY INDOORS
Public space has always been part of Ampparito’s artistic practice, in which scale and perspective play a fundamental role. In his murals, he depicts everyday objects such as cassette tapes, paper clips and plugs, while interventions such as Fall (Bristol, 2021) and Nada de valor (Völklinger Hütte, 2026) use language and shifts in scale to reframe monu ments and historic buildings.
In uːː ɡʊɾːuː uːː ɡʊɾːuː, this interest in urban space is articulated through three groups of works. The gallery skirting board is transformed by Palomas (2026), a series of 475 pieces featuring images of injured pigeons inhabiting Madrid, printed on granite slabs. The ceiling also becomes an exhibition surface with Anónimo (2022–present), comprising photographs of altered equestrian statues, whose reproductions on canvas interact with the gallery’s skylights. Meanwhile, visitors’ movements activate Veleta interior (2026), a series of kinetic replicas of weathervanes found on Madrid rooftops.
OBSERVATION AND IRONY
Conceived by the artist as a long-term project, Anónimo alters representative statues, leaving them faceless by concentrating a large amount of sunlight onto a single point. To carry out the intervention, Ampparito uses a handmade device built onto a bicycle, which allows him to transport and position a large panel of mirrors. Ironically, by decapitating them, the work draws attention to sculptures that can easily go unnoticed in the every day life of the city.
The project reflects the artist’s fascination with non-invasive alterations to public space through light and mirrors, ideas also present in Un Sol en la Sombra ft. Irene Luna (2025) and Objeto luminoso que se hace sombra con su propia luz(2022). Rather than physically intervening in the monuments, Ampparito temporarily transforms their image and ques tions the apparent stability of the symbols that occupy shared space.
While Anónimo alters the inaccessible through mirrors and light, Veleta interior brings visitors closer to objects that form part of the rooftop landscape but can rarely be observed at close range. Each piece reproduces a Madrid weathervane to scale and is designed to move inside the gallery. From sky to ground, Palomas directs attention towards those constant — and often reviled — companions of public space: pigeons. The work also connects with photography collecting and with ideas of repetition and effort, recurring themes in earlier works such as Nada de valor (2018–present) and Esperanza de Vida(2026).
AN ACTIVE VISITOR
For Ampparito, ‘the work is not the object itself, but what happens in the space’. uːː ɡʊɾːuː uːː ɡʊɾːuː requires visitors’ physical interaction: craning their necks backwards to observe Anónimo, crouching down to discover Palomas, and walking or gesturing to move the giant weathervanes installed in the gallery.
The installation offers a space for play and imagination while also highlighting the artist’s interest in adaptability, ergonomics and the ways in which objects and built spaces affect our bodies. The visitor ceases to be a static observer and becomes an active part of a shared choreography, generated through their relationship with the works and with other people present in the gallery.
In this sense, the exhibition title is particularly significant. uːː ɡʊɾːuː uːː ɡʊɾːuː is a phonetic transcription of a pigeon’s coo, alluding to the wide range of oral forms through which this sound is reproduced across different cultures and languages. When referring to the exhibition, visitors take on the complex task of imitating the sound of these birds, ex tending the work beyond the gallery and turning language into another form of participa tion. ‘The complexity of the title, which will sound different each time, encapsulates the creative force of Ampparito’s work and the exhibition’s ability to activate the imagination, take us to unexpected places and prompt us to reconsider preconceived ideas,’ explains Mun-Jung Chang, Director of Bowman Hal.
By transforming us into generators of indoor air currents, into pigeons or observers of pigeons, Ampparito changes the visitor’s role, proposing a different relationship with what habitually surrounds us and inviting us, through humour, to break with our usual way of looking at the everyday.
Exhibition information
Ampparito: uːː ɡʊɾːuː uːː ɡʊɾːuː
Venue: SOLO CSV (Cuesta San Vicente,36, Madrid)
Dates: 17 September – 21 November 2026