Regina José Galindo: The Body of Others
31 January - 29 March 2009 - FREE ADMISSION
‘I live in a violent country, and that is where my violent art comes from.’
Regina José Galindo
Modern Art Oxford’s spring exhibition showcases performances and actions by Guatemalan artist, Regina José Galindo. The Body of Others surveys the artist’s prolific oeuvre from the past decade and includes newly commissioned work. Galindo’s films, performances and poetry are responses to her native Latin America. Using her body to express visual metaphors for the Guatemalan condition, Galindo’s work signals wider imbalances of power: be it the carnage of civil war, endemic sexism and violence against women, or Central America’s relationship with the United States.
Galindo achieved wide recognition for her videoed performance ¿Quién puede borrar las huellas? (Who can erase the traces?), 2003, which documents the artist’s walk from Guatemala City’s constitutional Court to the National Palace leaving a trail of bloody footprints. The work is a response to General Ríos Montt’s 2003 presidential campaign, and commemorates the victims of the former dictator’s violent regime. Galindo’s more recent work involves the public as the material through which to reflect on culturally specific codes and histories.
Upper galleries
Image: 'Lo voy a gritar al viento', 1999,
Regina José Galindo: The Body of Others,
Modern Art Oxford, 2009,
Photography by Andy Keate
Image: Regina José Galindo: The Body of Others,
Installation view, Modern Art Oxford, 2009,
Photography by Andy Keate
Image: 'Reconocimiento de un cuerpo', 2008,
Regina José Galindo: The Body of Others,
Modern Art Oxford, 2009,
Photography by Andy Keate
Image: 'La Conquista (The Conquest)', 2009,
Regina José Galindo: The Body of Others
Modern Art Oxford, 2009,
Photography by Andy Keate
An action by Regina José Galindo Calentamiento (Warm Up) took place at The Ruskin School of Drawing & Fine Art on 30 January, commissioned and produced by Modern Art Oxford:
"Much is said about the coldness of European people, in particular a typically English coldness is often spoken of. A privileged position. An elegant way of looking at and responding to the world. Strategies designed with the objective of maintaining the established order. A history of dominion. An obsession with preserving traditional power structures. While everything happens around it, English high society maintains its position, impassive. Through this action, the artist wants to change, literally, the body temperature of a certain group of people, the majority of whom are of English origin. Raising the temperature in the space occupied by this group will also raise the body temperature of its occupants" Regina José Galindo.
Image: Calentamiento (Warm Up), Regina José Galindo.
Commissioned and produced by Modern Art Oxford, 2009.
Photography: Paul Withers.
Courtesy of the artist and prometeogallery di Isa Pisani.