Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Vanishing ink, 2008

The piece Vanishing Ink talks about the loss of the past that inevitably occurs during the process of inmigration. During the piece the artist writes a letter to her grandmother Maria, as she were her grandfather,*she writes the letter she thinks he would have written if he would have written one) who abandon the Canary Islands in 1947 in a small boat toward the Caribbean and never wrote to his family again. The text of this letter is inspired by the testimonials of the senegalese inmigrants that today arrive by thousands to the islands also in small boats called pateras. The letter is written in invisble ink that it reveals itself through a process of heating' simbolizing the effort needed to get to know inmigrants past. The letter reads Dear Maria: Sorry I have not written you before, but the trip was so horrible..many of us died in the boat and we threw tem out for fear of infections, it took us three months, much longer that we have thought so we run out of food and water very early. On arrival we were very sick and others died in the hospital. When I was well enough to leave I had spent all our savings. Now I have a job, that barely covers my needs. I will not be able to send you and the children money, although I know how much you must need it. That is why I could never send you this letter. Julian Performance for the International Festival of Performance about Migration in Bern, 2008

Encounters with an allien girl, 1, 2008



This is an expert from the piece in which the artist rosa mesa makes a parody of the tedious administrative processes that inmigrants need to follows. This piece, number 1 of a series is inspired by the information provided by the webs to future inmigrants to Switzerland, where the artist was doing a art residency at the time. The piece highlights the high economicals standars request to the candidates and the right win racist comments about people of colours.

Performance for the International Festival of Performance about Migration in Bern, Swityerland, 2008

The hand that rocks the craddle rules the world, 2007


This is a performance done for Perfoartnet 2008 in which the artist explores ideas of language, identity and stereotypes in german speaking countries.

Jaume Sabartes Proyect, 2005

The following images showed the public interventation realized in Barcelona. The project it was divided in three parts.
The first part it was realized in the morning and the whole square was marked with white tape, drawing the old buildings that were expropiated in 1996 and writing the names of the familes who used to live on them as well as details of the interior given by old neighbours.
The second part of the project was marked with yellow (simbolizing, benches and chairs) and green lines (simbolizing trees). This was the new plan of the City Hall. By the end we have the two plans overimposed.
Finally we set up a table in which we exhibit the new project to the neighbours given them the oportunity to participate through drawing or talking to us in the design of the future of the square. Finally we put together a table in which we exhibited the model for the new City Hall’s and we gave a chance to the public and neighbours to give their opinion and to partipate on the design of the new project, through writting, drawing or talking to the cameras.


















Like a fish out of watwer, 2005

This performance “ The burial of the sardine“ refers to the ritual of renovation at the end of the carnival every year, in this occasion the artist varies its content allowing the conservation and renaissance of the fish. The sardine does not die but it is buried in salt.












Performance for the exposition Islas Mobiles, curated by Orlando Brito and presented, Centro de Arte La Regenta, 2005

Talking to my mother, 2004

Public intervention

















Every time I call my mother whether in despair, in worry or in happiness she always answers my questions with the gift of a proverb. For Canary Islands people this is a custom and although my mother does not speak English her wisdom always finds an echo in Canada. Proverbs are universal wisdom. They belong to you if you remember them. They exist only if you pass them to others.
This project “Talking to My Mother” is part of my ongoing, three year exploration of oral tradition, using proverbs as metaphors for intergenerational communication. I have researched the evolution, forms of transmission and significance of proverbs within different cultures such us the Chinese, English, and Hispanic, using my privilege situation in Chinatown, Toronto. I have an interest in exploring the capacity of the proverb to address socio-cultural issues and their role in transmitting collective values.
In the Canary Islands tradition the proverb advises people what to do in a particular circumstance, providing guidelines to any given situation. In our time the disconnection with our ancestors has broken the transmission of this beautiful guide to peoples’ lives. My work seeks to restore proverbs to our collective memory.
My first show on the subject was in November 2002 at “Ne Plus Ultra Project”, where I presented proverbs that were common to the English, Spanish and Chinese languages.
For the Yugoslav Biennial of Young Artist my project will cross the borders of visual arts and oral tradition in a public space. I intend to use proverbs from the area of the former Yugoslavia. I have been working with members of their community, here in Toronto, researching their oral tradition and having the proverbs translated in English, Spanish and Serbian. I will address proverbs from the former Yugoslavia that talk about multiculturalism, reconstruction, reconciliation, hope and tolerance.
For this occasion I will install myself in a public area. The organizers have told me to expect around 100 people per day. I will provide photocopies of my drawings on proverbs in exchange for a proverb.
In the night of the opening it will be a stand from which I will donate to the participants who would ask a proverb about an issue that they will feel interest in.



Performance for the Youth Biennial of Yugoslavia.





















 

INTRODUCCION

      rosa mesa art has been of a multidisciplinary nature from its begginnings exploring multirud of subjects and mediums but with a basic ...