Manuel Alejandro Rodríguez-Delgado‘s practice envisions a speculative future shaped by environmental collapse and post-capitalist survival—a world where we repurpose the remnants of industrial society to construct improvised utopias. Informed by his identity as a native of the world’s oldest colony, Puerto Rico, and by an early fascination with technological objects, RodrÍguez-Delgado creates large-scale sculptures using what he has termed Technological Surplus—the discarded byproducts of late-stage capitalism and its production models. These works operate on two levels: as fictional prototypes for sustainable futures and as real explorations of the potential of technology beyond profit-driven systems.
Image: Manuel Alejandro Rodríguez-Delgado, Estudio para Combina Orbital #4 ‘ECO-4’ (Study for Orbital Combine #4, SOC-4), 2024. Flood irrigation pipe, steel, aluminum, vinyl hosing, Rábano Cimarrón plant gathered from the Puerto Rican rainforest, plywood, Douglas fir, steel hardware, various repurposed electronics, LED grow light, LCD screens, single-channel video on a loop, various repurposed plastics and rubber, cat litter containers repurposed as water tanks. 104 x 31 x 39 inches. Image courtesy of the artist.