Tiempo inánime (Inanimate Time) was my final work of the Master in Contemporary Art that I did at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Pontevedra. The work is the result of a process that took several forms, always under the maxim of memento mori, until it finally materialized through a series of 6 digital images that reflect the experience of photographing an autopsy. These photographs are accompanied by a sound piece that evokes the vanity of our longings and desires.
Tiempo inánime tries to bring to the topic of death depicted in the History of Art a vision of the times we are living in. Before carrying out the work I was very aware of the notion of intertext, since I believe that nothing comes from nothing and death is undoubtedly a recurring theme in the arts. I think it is interesting to review the background and the context in which the works are framed in order to know the causes that have led many artists from different cultures to be interested in the subject. I share the opinion of Dr. Iona Heath: "If we turn our eyes away from death we also undermine the pleasure of life. The less we are aware of death, the less we live".
Tiempo inánime tries to bring to the topic of death depicted in the History of Art a vision of the times we are living in. Before carrying out the work I was very aware of the notion of intertext, since I believe that nothing comes from nothing and death is undoubtedly a recurring theme in the arts. I think it is interesting to review the background and the context in which the works are framed in order to know the causes that have led many artists from different cultures to be interested in the subject. I share the opinion of Dr. Iona Heath: "If we turn our eyes away from death we also undermine the pleasure of life. The less we are aware of death, the less we live".
This
series of images titled La caída (The Fall) is the result of a daydream I had where I
contemplated how corpses slowly fell into a hole located on the floor
of a weightless space with a high ceiling and black walls. It was
something like an anechoic chamber illuminated by a dim light, where
I could only hear the heartbeat and breathing. I found the best
interpretation of the reason for the dream in Julia Kristeva's
explanations. For her the corpse: "awakens fear and fascination
since it represents the future of all of us, the de-appropriation of
the body" and that was what I remember feeling after waking up.
The initial logical rejection gave way to a fascination to see them
disappear as if it were an eternal cinematic fade to black, or a
nursery rhyme or mantra that is repeated incessantly. Faced with thismorbid delectatio I decided to explore the aesthetic limits
imposed by my unconscious through images of female bodies with
aggressions suffered or self-inflicted damage. La caída (The
Fall) is an exercise that has allowed me to transport the oneiric
dimension to the real world, trying to provide a new perspective on
the aesthetic limits of the individual within the social order.
In these times of proliferation of extremism, it is increasingly common to position ourselves by
accepting the ideology promoted by the collective or political party with which we most identify, often motivated by what we consider “unjust” and need to safeguard. On the spiritual plane, the a priori
perennial Catholic religion is experiencing a terrible crisis, it is in an impasse difficult to solve. A large majority is radically opposed to the changes that Catholicism is currently undergoing, for example, the opening towards new family models. The Holy Scriptures are also often distorted in pursuit of a
discourse of hatred that often leads to crimes justified in the name of God.
There is the case of voodoo, which is a synthesis of a theistic religion with an animist system. The slaves rebelled against the slave traders who forced them to profess the faith of Catholic Christianity, creating a syncretism between their roots and the imposed cult, in a praiseworthy act of amalgamating elements, in principle, as disparate as the images of saints and the loas or spirits of the Haitian and Louisiana voodoo. In fact, there are Haitians who practice both systems, considering it normal to go to church and participate in sacrifices or purification rites.
We live in a world of heterogeneous beliefs, which do not necessarily have to be religious, there are several ways to show “devotion”, or to contradict the dogmas referring to agnostics, atheists, freethinkers, etc.. These visceral images are representations of somber aspects of Catholicism. A vision dedicated to those who bear the brunt, since they have always paid the just for sinners.
There is the case of voodoo, which is a synthesis of a theistic religion with an animist system. The slaves rebelled against the slave traders who forced them to profess the faith of Catholic Christianity, creating a syncretism between their roots and the imposed cult, in a praiseworthy act of amalgamating elements, in principle, as disparate as the images of saints and the loas or spirits of the Haitian and Louisiana voodoo. In fact, there are Haitians who practice both systems, considering it normal to go to church and participate in sacrifices or purification rites.
We live in a world of heterogeneous beliefs, which do not necessarily have to be religious, there are several ways to show “devotion”, or to contradict the dogmas referring to agnostics, atheists, freethinkers, etc.. These visceral images are representations of somber aspects of Catholicism. A vision dedicated to those who bear the brunt, since they have always paid the just for sinners.
