Fernando Palma Rodríguez (born in 1957, Atocpan-San Pedro, Mexico; lives in Mexico City, Mexico) combines his training as an artist and mechanical engineer to create robotic sculptures that utilize custom software to perform complex, narrative choreographies. His works respond to issues facing Indigenous communities in Mexico, addressing human and land rights, violence and urgent environmental crises. Fernando lives in an agricultural region outside Mexico City where he co-founded Calpulli Tecalco, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Nahua language and culture.
Works
Fernando Palma Rodríguez at 259 Lake Shore Blvd E
Location: 259 Lake Shore Blvd East
A swarm of 104 robotic monarch butterflies are programmed to respond to seismic frequencies. Monarchs, which have suffered rapid decline, are the only species to migrate between Mexico and Canada annually. Palma Rodríguez’s installation, Cihuapapalutzin, questions our unwavering faith in technology and the perception that it will save us from…