Javier Arbizu_Sister Song_03/18/15_05/07/15_Dossier

The exhibition Sister Song takes as its starting point the ideas of chair, bed, and pillow. Three types of object which probably have their origin in Nilotic cultures and in the ancient Egypt (the scissors, the angarib, and the head restraint chair). A mythical origin full of symbols which currently goes unnoticed since they are objects that are perfectly integrated into our daily lives, having apparently lost his magical ability.

For his first solo exhibition at Ángeles Baños Gallery, Arbizu has raised a specific facility that aims to connect the mythical past of these pieces of furniture with its present to confront the ideas of immutability and mutability. Arbizu understands the power of myths and impregnates his work with a suggestive narrative of lost gods and neglected liturgies, the result of the study of the past and the observation of the reality. His pieces have a quality fetish and act as a reservoir of a collective longing for beauty and meaning. His works are eulogies to missing objects, imaginary or ritual invented idols who either belong to the world of dreams and of the vigil.

His work always retains the imprint of the hand and the marks of the tools used in their manufacture. Both in her sculptures and paintings and his 16mm films, the construction process is a negotiation between the characteristics and dynamics of materials and the wishes of the artist, always pondering a certain hapticcondition.

In this sample is presented the 16mm film “Untitled”, whose audio is manually produced by collage and scraping in the soundtrack of the celluloid. The film is designed so that in each reproduction presents subtle variations in the image and sound, as result of the physical friction and the overlap of the layers of the film in the projector.