Martin Ortiz de Taranco ARTIFACTS AND DRAWINGS

17th – 24th March 2023 11:00 am to 4:00 pm

For some time now, my practice has pivoted around concepts related to the formation of identity and the role of artists, as labourers, in the current artworld. Artists, as human beings, develop their identities by interacting with each other and with the environment that surrounds them. In this exhibition, I would like to question the process that leads to the construction of these identities. This will be addressed through two durational pieces that involve performative drawing. These works are related to each other through the nature of the actions undertaken by participants, who will use mark making and full body engagement as the means to reflect on this process. Employing the repetition of a physical task as the material that drives the action, the movements that performers undertake, will allow them to engage physically with each other, with the performance space and with the materials that they are using. This process will reveal their own perception of the world, as well as the way in which they relate to other human beings. The participants involved, will be working with ideas related to the human body, such as agency, exertion and (sexual) gratification, as well as concepts related to the realm of industry and consumerism, like standardization, interchangeability, modularity and prefabrication. Each iteration of each piece, will end with the performance space turned into a document of the actions undertaken, for them to be experienced by an audience that perhaps wasn’t present during the event itself. Visitors will be encouraged to engage with the actions performed and to participate in the show. To this extent and as part of the exhibition, I will perform the two pieces throughout the duration of the exhibition and I will also be present in the Roper Gallery, working on my own practice. I have recently started teaching life drawing and also sculpture. This has changed the way I perceive the world and how I engage with it, as well as with other human beings. It has also modified my perception of my own self. For this reason, I would like the relationship that I have with my students, as well as their efforts and achievements, to be portrayed in this residency show. Drawings by my students, will be displayed on the walls of the Roper Gallery and some might also be available to browse through.