Studies for the symphony of eternal power

2007 AFA Gallery - Santiago, Chile.

8 photographic works. Analog photography and lambda printing. Variable dimensions.

Photographic register:

© Jorge Branmayer

Artists such as Bosch, Caravaggio or Vermeer knew how to portray in their paintings the internal struggles of the men of their time. Through subtle symbolic gestures, allegorical figures or cryptic messages, they were able to establish moralizing readings on society, powers or traditions. A few centuries later, a creator of Lautaro would rework these iconic paintings to show, in a clear and direct way, the corruption of humanity.

With the eight photographs that make up this series, the artist plays with the illusion of creating his own wing of the Louvre. They are exhibited in corridors built expressly for the purpose, with stencils that imitate those of the great art galleries, and framed with baroque moldings. And what each snapshot shows, in analog format, are dioramas previously made with scrap materials, found objects and abandoned toys. An aesthetic elaborated with the imperfection of the forms, showing the patch and the remedy, insisting on the unreality of the narratives, although the conceptual basis are the events that come out of the newspapers and newscasts that we see every day.

Scenes that include divine attacks on mortals, Joe Rosenthal's re-enactment of the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima - swapping the American flag for the McDonald's logo - bombings, different gender couples having sex, trains derailing, a soccer player dribbling severed heads, Coca-Cola bottles, George Bush armed to the teeth, churches in flames, the pope fleeing in terror, Vladimir Putin and Tony Blair in an orgy, crusaders fighting while, in the background, the second plane hits the Twin Towers. Who needs metaphors in the 21st century?

Text: Juan José Santos