You Know You Cannot See Yourself So Well as by Reflection (Architecture by Frida Escobedo)

What is the context?

In 2015, Mexican architect Frida Escobedo was asked to create a pavilion for the summer at London’s V&A Museum. The pavilion was to be placed in the museum’s central courtyard named John Madejski Garden. Escobedo decided instead of making a pavilion to make an adjustable stage that could be moved around for different activities. Escobedo used Aztec patterns and the structure of Mexico City as her design and layout. Each platform is either a curved or rectangular steel-framed terrace that can be moved over lawn, asphalt, and a shallow pond. In addition the legs of the platforms can be adjusted to different levels. These platforms contain a reflective stainless-steel coating that has been sandblasted to make it less slippery. Though the initial idea was a completely mirrored look, after the sandblasting the platforms are striped half opaque and half mirrored. Escobedo was picked to create this structure as a celebration of Mexican culture in the United Kingdom. The piece is entitled “You Know You Cannot See Yourself So Well as by Reflection.” This is a reference to the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. This piece stayed up until October 2, 2015 as an event space for the London Design Festival.

What is the artist communicating and how?

The themes for Frida Escobedo’s architecture was simplicity, culture, and theater. The design of the platforms are evidently simple. All of the platforms are cut as curves or rectangles and are all the same. A grid is a very simplistic design. During interviews she explained that she wanted people to interact with the piece in their own way more than know the structure as a specific thing. She always explained, also, that her architecture was secondary to people’s interactions. Escobedo’s ultimate meaning for the platforms was a representation of the many cultural influences in Mexico today. She used Tenochtitlan’s landscape as a starting point for her layout and continued by looking at the map of Mexico City. Her structure was not only meant to be a remembrance of Mexico City’s grid, but also a useful addition to the museum’s activities in the courtyard. As an architect she wanted to spark activity rather than throw Mexican culture into a design. The deeper meaning of Frida Escobedo’s architecture was of wearing a mask. She looked at the courtyard as a face and the platforms as a mask. The platforms, in her words, would temporarily change the face of the John Madejski Garden like a mask would do. As the platforms are moved around the mask and face changes, creating different characters. The platforms as a mask reminded Escobedo of the theater.

Frida Escobedo

Why I find it beautiful?  

I find this piece of architecture beautiful because of the consideration and simplicity that Frida Escobedo put into it. Most architecture is designed with the thought of how appealing it is to the eye. Escobedo’s mirrored platforms we designed with the thought of how people would interact with it. When just looking at the platforms there is not much to them and they just look like a jumbled jungle gym. After reading the interviews that Frida Escobedo had about the summer stage it was evident that there was a lot more reasoning and symbolism behind every detail. Due to the fact that Frida Escobedo is Mexican I find it beautiful that she wanted to incorporate as many Mexican and Aztec designs into her architecture as possible. It is obvious that Escobedo wanted to transform and explain her culture in a different light to people. The idea of the platforms being a mast on the face of the garden is something that most people would not think about or even imagine when looking at a stage and platforms. Once this concept is explained the title of the piece and the idea of the shifting platforms make sense. I think the architecture would have been more appealing if the platforms were completely mirrored, but safety first.   

Frida Escobedo