AMERICANIDADE PROJECT
November 30th, 2007 – January 27th, 2008.
Dragão do Mar Museum, Fortaleza, Brasil.

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Show review by Ana Cecília Soares published in the Brazilian digital magazine Canal Contemporâneo.

This is my first solo exhibition, even though I’ve been showing my work, within and without Panama, for more than 12 years. I’m not too sure why it’s taken me so long, but truth is, in this show, I’m not very solo at all. Many of the works exhibited were created in collaboration with other artists, and in some cases, with writers, curators and friends. The level and intensity of collaboration varies a lot from piece to piece. Some were completely conceived and created with other people; the fotonovela and the videos I made with Donna Conlon are good examples. But in other cases, I just counted on a colleague or a friend for some help shooting a few photos or recording some video. For example, after each day of hardcore tanning, José Guedes, artist and director of the Dragão do Mar museum, shot the photos of my torso used in both versions of All Expenses Paid; and almost all the photos used for Poscards From Panama were taken by other people, amongst which are included several recognized artists, like Jose Manuel Castrellón, Gustavo Araujo and Francis Alÿs. All this underscores an undeniable fact: like everyone else, when working, artists inevitably establish relationships of interdependent collaboration with many other people. This notion may seem a bit obvious, but it challenges the romantic, stereotypical image of the artist-genius, creating masterpieces in the solitude of his or her ivory tower studio. In any case, I do recognize the importance of solo exhibitions: amongst other things, they allow you to show an ensemble of work, which in turn generates broader perspectives of the oeuvre, and helps bring evolutive patterns into relief. Furthermore, it looks really good on your curriculum.