The absence of a title, numbering, and a defined rhythm act as signals that invite viewers to step into the galleries. Through various investigations that have shaped his trajectory, Zanela brings together series that reference cultural transformations separated in time. The emergence of numbers in human thought, advances in digital communications, and the processes of image construction through perspective and optical illusions are the core themes that run through the exhibition.

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Natural Numbers is a research project that began in 2022, focusing primarily on the notion of “numeracy”—a skill that allows for interpreting reality through numbers and which has gained significant relevance in the ecosystem of digital communications. Initially, the work explored the relationship between nature and algebra, taking as a reference the structure of digital numbers based on the digit 8, a symbol that encompasses all numbers and refers to the set of natural numbers: the integers from 0 to 9 that form the infinite sequence of real numbers.

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The research took place in Punta Indio, Buenos Aires Province. During trials, photographs and videos were taken in which the digit 8 was represented in nature through projections and installations using organic materials such as branches and dry grass. From this material exploration, charcoal emerged as an installation element, leading to performative actions involving fire and embers—documented in variations now on display.

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In other areas of the gallery, in ingenious or seemingly unviable spaces like the staircase, Zanela creates installations that apply the concept of anamorphosis, an optical construction method based on perspective. The artist challenges perception by combining illusion and interaction with the viewer, crafting a space for reflection on discernment. With simple materials like tape, ribbons, or light tubes, he meticulously builds geometric figures, creating scenarios where the image only achieves a coherent appearance from a specific vantage point.

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This interplay between illusion and the concrete defines this series of works, demanding movement, concentration, and careful attention from the viewer in pieces like Cosmos or Prisms. The optical exercise calls into question our ability to distinguish between the real and the chimerical, triggering a cascade of afterimages imprinted on the retina. When the neurons responsible for detecting patterns become overloaded due to repetitive stimuli, the brain seeks information elsewhere in the image, potentially causing visual instability and altering predictive and structural analysis processes.

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Zanela weaves a web of concepts in his exhibition—manipulating contrasts, crafting geometric forms, and exploring the idea of numeracy—underscoring an inescapable reality: perception tends toward fragility, exhausts itself, and allows itself to be deceived. Unt. Exhibition #2 (Mambo), rather than employing explicit titles, offers subtle clues suggesting order and rhythmic movement, giving rise to a system that, while coherent, remains irregular and demanding.