Diego Delas

Burmese Amulets (Castillo bajo el polvo), 2024

Oil, oil bar, tempera, and acrylic dispersion on plywood 
160 x 140.5 x 4 cm
TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Collection

Born in 1983 in Aranda de Duero, Spain, Diego Delas studied architecture and fine art in Madrid before moving to London, where he completed an MA in painting at the Royal College of Art and later a PhD at the Ruskin School of Art, Oxford University. Currently residing in Málaga, Delas’s work is deeply rooted in his memories and cultural heritage, weaving together childhood experiences, such as exploring dusty attics and observing his grandmother’s domestic routines, with his professional training in architecture and fine art.

Curator Cristina Anglada, cites Toni Morrison’s description of memory in her novel Beloved (1987) as an apt encapsulation of Delas’s artistic approach: “I was talking about time. It’s so hard for me to believe in it. Some things go. Pass on. Some things just stay. I used to think it was my memory. You know. Some things you forget. Other things you never do. But it’s not. Places, places are still there. […] The picture of what I did, or knew, or saw is still out there. Right in the place where it happened.” This concept of memory lingering in spaces is central to Delas’s practice.
In Burmese Amulets (Castillo bajo el polvo), Delas explores themes of memory, decay, and the passage of time. The title evokes a fusion of mystical and mundane elements, with Burmese amulets—symbols of protection and magic—set against the backdrop of a “castle under the dust,” a metaphor for forgotten or obscured heritage (referencing Jordi Coca). His work often focuses on vernacular architecture—unofficial, functional structures that hold deep cultural significance. These buildings, often found in rural or peri-urban landscapes, are portrayed as living entities, evolving with the needs and desires of their inhabitants. Delas frequently incorporates apotropaic symbols, traditionally used to ward off harm, into his work, reimagining them as modernist efforts to create spaces imbued with memory, optimism, and protection. Delas’s research extends beyond physical structures, viewing these environments as narrative vessels that preserve the stories of their inhabitants. His installations and objects function as bridges between knowledge and fiction, sparking new interpretations and connections.

In 2022, Delas, in collaboration with artist Leonor Serrano Rivas, created the video Breathings of the Moon, commissioned by TBA21–Academy with the support of STARTS, an initiative of the European Commission. The video, derived from a performance and expedition in the underwater realms of the Venice Lagoon, draws inspiration from the tools and methods of “natural magicians,” particularly the seventeenth-century scholar Athanasius Kircher. Set against the backdrop of the climate crisis, the work reimagines the Venice Lagoon and its tides through a microcosmic recreation, using magnets and pigments in a small tank to simulate its movements and agency. Rather than focusing solely on the dichotomy of problem and solution—such as Venice’s aqua alta and the MOSE infrastructure—the video embraces the power of narrative, fiction, and magic. It offers an imaginative rethinking of how we might attune ourselves to the multiplicity of bodies and breathings in the natural world, challenging the centrality of the human and redefining our relationship with “nature.”