By
María Laura Hernández de Agüero
A PIONEERING EXHIBITION AT THE MAC IN BARRANCO
The show presents six decades of artistic and cultural work by Francesco Mariotti and María Luy, two artists who have intertwined technology, collectivity, nature, and social commitment in their work.
April 17, 2026
Francesco Mariotti. Ekeko, 1982. Pencil on paper, 33 x 47,8 cm
Thought is a Hybrid Garden, displayed in the galleries of the Lima Art Museum (MALI) and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC Lima), offers a broad view of the Mariotti-Luy Archive, which is on loan to MALI.
The concept of hybridity is central to the artistic and cultural production of Mariotti and Luy. For Mariotti, hybridity is not a simple mixture of elements, but a complex form of existence that integrates seemingly opposing components, such as technology and nature. His installations, such as the Hybrid Gardens, bring together diverse elements and offer a critique of environmental devastation and the predatory logic of urban development.
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Francesco Mariotti. Saweto/Fireflies Memorial, 2020-2022. Instalación lumínica y acústica
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María Luy. Útero. 3er Encuentro Internacional "Mujer y Salud", 1981. Serigrafía sobre papel, 69 x 49,8 cm
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Francesco Mariotti. Los goces que ellas conciben. Serie Ino Moxo. Las tres mitades de Ino Moxo y otros brujos de la Amazonía, 1981. Serigrafía sobre papel, 64.8 x 44.2 cm.
The show presents works never before exhibited in Peru, offering multisensory and luminous experiences. Mariotti and Luy's early works foreshadow the development of artificial intelligences that emerge in dialogue with diverse cultural traditions and worldviews, from Dadaism to Amazonian myths.
The exhibition, curated by Miguel A. López and José-Carlos Mariátegui, also incorporates cultural management work that has been the driving force behind Mariotti and Luy's prolific creative output. It is an opportunity to reflect on the relationship between humanity, technology, and nature, and to imagine alternative models of coexistence.
In Gallery 7, the series Hybrid Gardens and Quantum Gardens are presented, installations with heterogeneous materials that construct natural and artificial habitats. The firefly becomes a central symbol, its bioluminescence an indicator of healthy ecosystems. These installations articulate a critique of environmental devastation and the predatory logic of urban development, imagining alternative models of coexistence.
The exhibition will run until April 26, 2026, at Museum of Contemporary Art of Lima (MAC), Av. Miguel Grau 1511, Barranco, Lima (Peru).
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