Cuando el hambre entra por la puerta, el amor se va por la ventana

Using as a title the traditional Mexican saying “cuando el hambre entra por la puerta, el amor se va por la ventana”, the Chilean artist Cristián Silva presents his second individual exhibition in Spain, from the 24th of May in Maisterravalbuena.

With a career spanning more than two decades, and a versatile body of work characterized by the exploration of all types of visual resources (drawing, painting, objects, photograph and video), Silva presents an austere stripped-down project, dealing with matters of conservation/preservation, memory, pleasure and sacrifice.

The show is formed by an enigmatic ensemble of objects that, somehow, evoke the remains of mummified human bodies – chemically “de-boned”- often found in the peat bogs of the northern hemisphere (commonly known as bog bodies or swamp mummies). In this particular case, small bulks of organic appearance are displayed, symbolizing, in the artist’s view, body fragments of relatives and friends recently deceased.

The objects are made of rubber (natural latex), and covered with a viscous shiny dark substance. This dense substance – which appears to be formed by several kinds of particles- is also a part of the present project of the artist, called “17-fruit Marmalade”. This substance is exactly as described: a sweet home-made preserve that has been elaborated by the artista, randomly combining cherries, peaches, strawberries, apricots, pineapples, blackberries, figs, blueberries, lemons, Siam pumpkins, tangerines, grapefruits, kiwis, oranges, raspberries, papayas and plums.

Thus, proposing a globalized and alchemistic combination of Scandinavian funeral rites, raw materials from the southern hemisphere (natural rubber), fruits from the five continents (citrus, fruits of the forest and tropical fruits), the socioeconomic situation in Europe, and some private references taken from his own life, Cristián Silva continues his emotional research to the relationship between the existencial and the political, and the multiple correspondences between the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms.