Colombian artist Delcy Morelos will present her monumental public artwork ‘Origo’ in the Barbican Sculpture Court
Colombian artist Delcy Morelos brings her monumental public artwork, Origo, to the Barbican Sculpture Court from 15 May to 31 July 2026, marking the first UK presentation of her work on this scale. The exhibition, supported by the Bukhman Foundation and major contributions from the Cheng-Lan Foundation and others, transforms the iconic Brutalist architecture of the Barbican into a space for active engagement. For Morelos, who draws on ancestral Andean cosmo visions, the earth is not merely material but a living partner; in her words, “I am a body, I am earth.” Visitors will be invited to explore her ovular pavilion, which stretches 24 metres by 18 metres and rises over three metres, entering soil-lined tunnels and fragrant, spice-infused chambers that encourage a multisensory dialogue with the natural world.
Delcy Morelos, 2025. Image credit Inés Magaña Mayorga. Image courtesy the artist & Marian Goodman Gallery
Born in Tierralta, Córdoba, in 1967, Morelos’s artistic journey has been shaped by her experiences in a region scarred by armed conflict and environmental exploitation. Her early clay paintings and later large-scale earthworks examine the interconnections between body, territory, and memory, reflecting a philosophy that regards soil and plant matter as active, symbiotic participants rather than passive resources. For Origo, she combines earth, clay, hay, and seeds with spices like cinnamon and cloves, creating a living installation whose scents, textures, and forms invite contemplation of our relationship with the environment. The work’s tactile surfaces and intricate, porous topography echo the Barbican’s concrete architecture while offering a counterpoint to its rigid geometry.
Delcy Morelos, El abrazo (The Embrace, detail), 2023. Installation view, Dia Chelsea, New York, 2023. Image credit Don Stahl. Image courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery
Origo also revives the Barbican Sculpture Court’s original purpose as a site for large-scale public art. Its rounded, ovular design departs from Morelos’s typical angular forms, establishing a dialogue between the malleable earth and the steadfast Brutalist structure. As visitors move through tunnels and central enclosures, the work highlights the permeability of human bodies and their entanglement with the material of the earth, bridging ancestral South American knowledge with the utopian, humanist ideals that shaped the Barbican. Complementing the exhibition, public conversations and an artist talk on 15 May, along with a short documentary film, will offer insights into the creative and ecological processes behind Morelos’s ambitious installation.
Date: 15 May - 31 July 2026. Location: Barbican Sculpture Court, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS. barbican.org.uk
