Skillfully used, the words have the power to order the reality. Developed and studied by the philosopher John Langshaw Austin with his formula “Speech Acts”, this phenomenon is widespread in the political and social domains which tend to print truths on the world. The words of the people of influences act as a demiurge, as a creator. Mantras shows and highlights this oral strength. Hindu concept meaning “syllable or sacred sentence endowed with a spiritual power”, each sculptures of Mantras is based on a fragment of the speeches which have forged the Modern History. Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Charles de Gaulle, etc, are so got together thanks to the “Speech Acts” of their words. Transcribed into 3D from their graphic plan, realized in extruded polystyrene, these words become air and tangible sculptures, clouds put between ground and sky. In this artwork you can see the following sound portraits (from left to right in the enclosed picture) : Yes we can (Barack Obama), Hiroshima (Harry Truman), Ich bin ein Berliner (John F. Kennedy), I have a dream (Martin Luther King), Je vous ai compris (Charles de Gaulle), A rainbow nation (Nelson Mandela), Medīnat Yisrā’el - State of Israel (David Ben Gourion).
Mantrasby Yoann Ximenes
Exhibitions (extract)
Group Exhibitions : 2015 :
- En vitrine, Library Levi-Strauss, Paris
- Louées soient les oeuvres, Pop Up Gallery – Favela Chic, Paris France
- Organizing Chaos, « Incubarte 7 » - International Festival of Art, Valencia, Spain
- Poetry in visual, Museum of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Solo Exhibitions : 2015 :
- (coming) Vision sonore, Library Levi-Strauss, Paris, France
- (coming) Octobre Numérique, Arles, France
Prizes :
- Festival « Ici & Demain », 1st Prize « Visual Arts », Paris, France, 2014
- 1st Prize Phonurgia Nova « Installation », Paris, France, 2015
There is a recent study that states that Bogotá is one of the most dangerous cities in the world for a woman to live in, between the ages 18 and 50. The article mentioned two facts, first that women between those ages are the most frequent victims of theft in the city because we seem weak and vulnerable. And second, due to the high occupancy in public transportation, we are subject to having our private space invaded and being touched by men without even realizing it. Regardless of whether the article is true or not, I do feel very vulnerable. Some days I’m afraid to leave my house at certain hours because I think someone might rob me. I’d rather pay 10 times more than the cost of public transportation in a taxi to feel safe and secure. What I feel is that I am at war with my city. A war that I lose every day. Even though it is more likely nothing will happen to me, just the fact of being afraid is exhausting. “City at War” is a work that reveals the dissatisfaction that I have as a woman living in Bogotá. The piece is a representation of my city. It is a white box where you could find inside a “model” of Bogotá made out of computer chips painted and modified to look like the city, while on the surface it has some thin white lines showing the main roads. This “grid” of roads has some filters that only let the piece be observed from an aerial perspective, which to me represents the perspective of war. In other words, the work itself could be viewed from different perspectives, but it does not show what’s inside. It uses a polarized material that looks like a mirror from different angles. However, if the work is viewed from the right perspective, you can clearly appreciate the white and desolate city.
City at warby María Jimena Herrera
Mainly three interests have characterized my work over my bachelor. First I want to see how the passage of time affects objects and materials, which has led me to develop a taste for materials that I found and had been discarded either by nature or humans, these forgotten objects have a materiality that I love to work with, because I can try to give them a new meaning, a meaning different than trash. On the other hand, I like to do paintings without using the classic medium of painting as acrylic or oil. That is, create images or pictorial objects by using other objects. It is something that attracts me because it allows me to see and discover the color or shape of everyday objects, than can be seen in very different and attractive ways. And last all my work is based on personal experiences because for me this are the ones that are deep and significant enough to be translated into art.