Abyss is a water mirror that occupies the center of the ruins of O’Doherty’s Keep. The water
reflects the inner faces of the thick stone walls, along with a staircase that once connected the
three floors that have since disappeared. Water from the Crana River is used as a reflective
medium to duplicate this interior space, which, lacking floors or a ceiling, has become a deep
courtyard.
This work by Roberto Uribe-Castro uses the water mirror as a continuous reflective surface
of the interior, inaccessible part of the Keep, which reflects the complete image of its inner
world back to us—the reflection here does not open outward, but rather denies it, as this
image of the interior is only partially accessible to those observing from outside: present in
the river water and perceptible through the tower’s openings, this interior appears
fragmented, never fully graspable.
This work engages the abyss as a condition that is both terrifying and alluring. The mirror
presents itself as a seductive surface whose brilliance attracts, yet whose reflection holds the
danger of sinking and becoming lost within it, as in the myth of Narcissus. The tower,
multiplied by its reflective surface, poses a question to the observer: on which side of the
abyss do we stand, and is it not merely a matter of time before we shift from the position of
observer to that of the observed?

Roberto Uribe-Castro graduated as an architect from the Universidad de los Andes and holds a master’s degree in spatial strategy from the Weißensee School of the Arts in Berlin.

He has worked as a field researcher for urban studies and as a studio manager for Doris Salcedo and Mona Hatoum in site-specific installations, collaborations that have been highly influential in his interdisciplinary and collaborative work.

As an artist his practice focuses on how the colonial past or violent historical events that persist over time in architecture and urban landscapes. Through temporary or ephemeral interventions made with materials and elements gathered at the site of intervention, he subtly alters the place allowing political discourses or forgotten historical events to emerge.

Roberto has lived in Dublin, Madrid, Amsterdam and Cartagena de Indias. He currently lives and works in Berlin.

Artist Talk & Walk at Swan Park & Barrick Hill

Saturday 2nd May 2026

Book for the bus tour now