Hidrante is pleased to present El astrolabio del guabairo, a solo exhibition by Javier Orfón. The exhibition will be on view from November 14, 2025, to January 9, 2026.
The Guánica Dry Forest, situated in the southwest of Puerto Rican southwest, is one of the rarest and best-preserved subtropical ecosystems of its kind and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of the few regions in Puerto Rico with minimal light pollution and is home to one of the most enigmatic and elusive birds on the island, the guabairo de Puerto Rico (Antrostomus noctitherus), also known as the Puerto Rican Nightjar in English. Endemic to the southwest of the island, this nocturnal bird has captured the attention of ornithologists and conservationists alike due to its rarity, its hypnotic song, and its struggle to survive in an increasingly fragmented habitat.
For his second solo exhibition at Hidrante, Javier Orfón has been interacting with the Guanica Dry Forest, walking along its paths during both day and night, considering how to poetically present the geography of the place, its life, and also the nocturnal sky. During this period of immersion, he used a telescope to capture images of the celestial vault, while also producing images of materials such as the bark of the "guayacán centenario", thought to be between 700 to 1000 years old, found conchs, drawings inspired by the resonance of the nightjar's song, and a concrete poem that Orfón designed, inspired by his observations and experiences in the natural reserve, with the shape of the melon cactus (melocactus intortus).
Astrolabio del guabairo is an invitation to reflect on the increasing disturbances that mankind imposes on the natural world, as well as the ever larger systems that Nature utilizes and depends on to sustain itself. The Puerto Rican nightjar was first discovered as a single skin specimen found in the Northern part of Puerto Rico in 1888, and was rediscovered and correctly identified in 1916 when bones were discovered in a cave in the same area. The species was originally considered already extinct at the time of its discovery, with confirmation of living specimens only occurring in 1961 in the Guánica Dry Forest. Its historic range consisted of the western half of Puerto Rico, but environmental changes in the north due to deforestation, agricultural expansion, and light pollution have confined it to its current range in the southwest of the island. Orfón’s installation references the astrolabe, an astronomical instrument for navigation dating to ancient times, to propose an expansive notion of environmentalism that encompasses not just the Earth but also the celestial space, with a poetic idea of the guabairo utilizing internal star charts to navigate its surroundings.
Javier Orfón (b. 1989, Caguas, PR) ’s practice, working through drawings, paintings, sculptures, and installations, is inspired by topophilia, a strong sense of place encompassing a particular space’s sensations and aesthetic experiences. His knowledge and connection to the sites guide his multidisciplinary research, which encompasses geography, anthropology, ecology, architecture, and oral history. This research nourishes his practice of creating atemporal archeologies of the inquired site, in which he explores the human condition, nature, the anthropogenic impact, memory, otherness, landscape, and globalization. This project was possible thanks to the support of a 2023 Fellowship from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, as well as support from the Maniobra program by Centro de Económia Creativa (CEC).