I Will Fear No Evil

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Skateboards made from skin and organs hanging amidst bicycles—the works of multimedia artist Hernández-Díez are provocative, to say the least. The internationally-acclaimed artist lives and works in Barcelona, and his art is an eclectic mix of sculpture, photography, video and installation art, which explores themes of ethics, technology, superstition and religion. This exhibition revives early works by Hernández-Díez from the late Eighties and early Nineties, alongside new material. This very act of reviving old works reflects the artist’s interest in themes of revival and resurrection, which also feature prominently in Baroque painting and Catholic church doctrines, from which Hernández-Díez draws much inspiration. His installations use screens and vitrines (glass cabinets), offering experimental ways to debate and question the representation of death, rebirth and everyday life.

Three pieces exhibited are from his 1991 project San Guinefort y otras devociones (San Guinefort and other devotions), which was heralded as “a techno-pop view of Catholicism’s most beloved symbols” by Venezuelan artist Meyer Vaisman. Fast-forward to 2016 and his new project, Filamentos, explores the iconographic use of light bulb filaments and the metaphor of light itself. The artist takes inspiration from his native land, Venezuela, and his childhood, though objects from the domestic sphere often feature alongside figures and themes within international popular culture. This can culminate in a sometimes distorted set of visual creations, yet it is this syncretic approach to creating art that makes his installations so enticing.

More information here.