Mexican artists Ivan Puig and Andrés Padilla Domene, also known as Los Ferronautas, built a self-made rail vehicle (which could also travel by road) to explore abandoned passenger railways of Mexico and Ecuador. Between 2010 and 2012, they both travelled across the two countries in the so-called SEFT-1 (Sonda de Exploración Ferroviaria Tripulada) uncovering hundreds of modern ruins. Altogether, they drove almost 9,000 kilometres collecting stories, film footage and audio surrounding railways that had been abandoned since 1995, when Mexico privatized their rail system. In their first London exhibition, SEFT-1 Abandoned Railways Exploration Probe – Modern Ruins 1:220, commissioned by The Arts Catalyst and presented in partnership with Furtherfield Gallery, the artists explore how the ideology of progress is imprinted onto historic landscapes and reflect on the two poles of the social experience of technology – use and obsolescence. Watch this video to find out more.
All images Ivan Puig and Andrés Padilla Domene, SEFT-1 Abandoned Railways Exploration Probe – Modern Ruins 1:220.