Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Carillo Gil ,
Feb 11, 2004 - May 09, 2004
Mexico, D.F., Mexico
Caddy Attacked by Queltehues: Cristián Silva at the Carrillo Gil
by Ichiro Irie
One more of the many pieces that have to do with golf, is a small drawing/collage -done on green grid paper, most probably found in stationary stores- of several golfers swinging their clubs, entitled "Cocula Swing". Instead of swinging normal golf clubs, they are swinging poles with what looks like cat-of-nine-tails whips coming out of the ends, turning into some bizarre scene of self and collective flagellation. This superimposition of golf, with all its connotations, both to Silva as to everyone else, coupled with menacing scenes of brutality somehow unites these disparate activities, and only clarifies that the connection points in Silva’s universe are closer than appearances lead us to believe.
What seems to be the final piece of the show, called "Enemy Mine (Enemigo Mío)", is a video of an alien/monkey-man character, mumbling incomprehensibly, just like the "drac" warrior in the movie with the same name. Underneath appear social and emotionally driven subtitles, which are in fact random quotes by politicians, military leaders, prisoners and other personalities from Chile over the last 30 years. This piece is at once scary, funny and disconcerting, since the viewer never really finds out who’s talking or what relationship the artist has with what is being said.
As a whole, the exhibition has many strong moments, especially "Six Siblings", "The Raft of the Medusa", "Enemy Mine" and some of his smaller drawings. The influence of Beuys could be felt throughout the show from his use of felt (no pun intended), to his obsessive insistance on specific motifs such as chocolate, numbers, and color, all which swirl around as reminders of intersecting phenomenon. What left me somewhat perplexed was the fact that the room was impacted with objects, and that there was a dissonance between his more overtly political and poetic work, and his more formal pieces… well, aside from the use of the color green. I couldn’t help but feel he could have omitted a third of the show, and still, the spectator would have been left with a leaner and more coherent exhibition. Sensing this was done on purpose I asked Silva about it, and he said the installation process was sincerely what he struggled with the most, because he wanted to deliberately go against the minimalist and more institutional approach to installation and, at the same time, bombard the viewer with information to a point where there could be no chance to point the finger and easily say "this is what this show is about." Nevertheless, there is plenty of good stuff to see in the exhibit to far outweigh any such details to make this exhibition well worth the visit. Futhermore, it gives people from Mexico City a chance to discover and learn more about one of the most intriguing artists in the Guadalajara contemporary art scene. Read the interview with Cristián Silva
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