Book Launch: Oscar Murillo – Social Cataracts / Ceguera Social

Join us at Kunstinstituut Melly for the launch of Social Cataracts / Ceguera Social (2026), a new publication surveying the recent practice of artist Oscar Murillo. The evening brings together Oscar Murillo and Rotterdam-based artist and educator Santiago Pinyol for a conversation moderated by independent curator and editor Emily Pethick, with an introduction by Gabi Ngcobo, Director of Kunstinstituut Melly.

Published by Bom Dia and edited by Emily Pethick with Sarah Demeuse, Social Cataracts / Ceguera Social brings together bodies of work produced between 2019 and 2026 across Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, the United States, Europe, and beyond. The publication traces recurring ideas and methodologies in Oscar's expansive practice, which encompasses painting, installation, performance, and collective participation.

From his long-term project Frequencies to the monumental participatory installation The flooded garden, presented at Tate Modern in 2024, Murillo's work explores relationships between social structures, communities, and shared experiences. Drawing on references to bodies of water, processes of social mapping, and his distinctive approach to abstraction, the publication considers how artistic practices can respond to the social and political forces shaping our world.

Program

- Introduction by Gabi Ngcobo, Director of Kunstinstituut Melly

- Conversation between Oscar Murillo and Santiago Pinyol, moderated by Emily Pethick

- The evening will conclude with a Q&A, inviting the audience to join the discussion.

About the Publication

Social Cataracts / Ceguera Social (2026) is published by Bom Dia, edited by Emily Pethick with Sarah Demeuse, and designed by Manuel Raeder Studio. The publication features contributions by Amanda Carneiro, Rosalie Doubal, Yasmijn Jarram, Oscar Murillo, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Emily Pethick, and María Belén Sáez de Ibarra S.