Remarkable upcycled tin maps of world cities
Paris, 2015, 130 x 130 cm
Sánchez Fantino was born in Rosario, Argentina, and lives and works in Buenos Aires where he has been creating paintings and assemblages with wood, canvas, paper and recycled materials for over 30 years. His work has been exhibited and collected internationally. In 2010 Fantino developed the Tin Can Maps project – an artistic interpretation of cartography using discarded tin can materials to create wall sculptures. He takes pictures and researches newspapers, maps, and aerial and Google Earth images of the locations where he perceives social, political or ecological conflict: urban centers where piles of garbage are produced, areas ecologically damaged by human consumption, shantytowns and their social, cultural and urban burden. Whereas satellite aerial views show social and architectonic characteristics and environmental damage, Fantino’s art brings together views from above with actual discarded materials taken from that location. This creates a tangible sensory perception of the global problem of waste, consumer society and planned obsolescence.
The production process involves a team of people from different social levels, and recycling cooperatives and neighbors who provide the material. Fantino developed a program to train young people from the Villa neighborhoods to give them the experience of creating art in a social and collaborative effort, and the sense of accomplishment in exhibiting the work in their neighborhoods.
CITIES
London, 2015, 130 x 130 cm .
Istanbul, 2015, 130 x 130 cm .
Madrid, 2014, 80 x 80 cm .
Hamburg, 2015, 130 x 130 cm
Manhattan, 2013, 80 x 240 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, 2013, 50 cm
ARGENTINA
Costa de Mar (Buenos Aires), 2013, 80 x 150cm, satellite view, upcycled tin artwork
Deheza (Cordoba Province), 2011, 140 x 160 cm
Parque Chas (Buenos Aires), 2012, 50 x 50 cm
Perito Moreno Glacier (Patagonia), 2012, 50 x 50 cm .
El Muro de San Isidro (Buenos Aires), 2012, 130 x 170 cm
Rosario (Rosario City), 2012, 170 x 130 cm
Loma de la Lata (Neuquén Province), 2016, 130 x 170 cm .
Mari Menuco (Neuquén Province), 2013, 340 x 150 cm
Villa 31 (Buenos Aires), 2012, 100 x 200 cm
Tecnopolis (Buenos Aires), 2014, 180 x 320 cm
ART FOR URBAN YOUTH
Since 2010 Sánchez Fantino has been producing the Tin Can Maps program for young people living in the Villa 21, one of the “Emergency Villas” that are a type of shanty town or slum found in Argentina. In 2013 it was estimated that 2.5 million people lived in almost 2000 Villas in Argentina’s largest cities. In 2013, the students’ mural of 9,5m x 3,5m titled Map of Cans Villa 21 was permanently placed in the House of the Culture of Villa 21 in Barracas, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of Argentina. Other program supporters have been General Oil Deheza, Rabobank, Laboratorios Gador, Galicia Bank, Central Park Industrial Complex. The program continues.