Fernando Brizuela

"The beach photographed me twice" is a work that I consider to be representative of my oeuvre in several aspects. It consists of a group of five C-print photographs of uninhabited seaside landscapes, in which an orange tone and a melancholic and absent mood prevails. These are the accidental result of a holiday trip during which I started working superimposing home-made color filters between the camera and the object to be photographed, managing thus, in a simple way, to drastically transform what I was contemplating, switching reality to the sort of image that I was trying to portray. From my perspective, this work should be included into the selfportrait genre, and that is what the title tries to reinforce. I like to think of it as in relation to a Frida Kahlo painting, whose title is "Lo que el agua vio" ("What the water saw"), in which she portrays herself as submerged in a bathtub full of a water that seems to be offering her a large amount of self-referential images.

It is difficult to suggest a particular way to read my works, or any other contemporary art work. Taking into consideration the wide variety of formats through which a certain work of art can be shown (publications, galleries, collections, art fairs, cultural centers, museums, etc.), we should bear in mind also the existence of a variety of audiences. This way, organizing the way a work of art should be received by a particular viewer is not a simple task, However, overall, I think contemporary art asks for a certain time and a generous willingness, an active interpretation that could leave simplistic opinions behind, avoiding disqualifying remarks such as "It doesn't say anything to me" or "even my son could do this!".

More than identifying a tradition my work might fit into, I find it more plausible to come up with some names that, some way or the other, have contributed to guide the way I understand art; artists I may consider to be references: Carolina Antoniadis, Jorge Gumier Maier, Cristina Schiavi, Delia Cancela, Nicolás Guagnini, Luis Camnitzer.

Mi Golden Lion goes to Ferrari, for its "La Civilización Occidental y Cristiana" ("Western Christian Civilization"), his "Diluvios" ("Floods") series, and his retrospective exhibition done at the Centro Cultural Recoleta, a record of viewers that was also accompanied by an excellent catalogue, unfortunately now sold-out. Among the exhibitions that remain in my memory, I can mention "Palabras Perdidas" (Lost Words), organized by the end of 2001 by Ana María Battistozzi also at the CCR, that crossed different generations of artists by means of a central theme focused on the issue of writing. Also the museum exhibited by Magdalena Jitrik at the Federación Libertaria Argentina (FLA), because it meant both a challenge and an unforgettable emotional feeling. Of her I would also like to highlight her more recent architectural designs and small utopian mock-ups. On the other hand is important to me, when it comes to distinguishing relevant or significant exhibitions, to consider my relation with the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA), where I work as a member of the mounting staff, what has allowed me, due to an intense exhibition schedule and the everyday connection with its permanent collection, to reach a better understanding in terms of demystifying or rethinking contemporary aesthetic issues, particularly in Latin America. It was precisely out of such a connection that I highlight Víctor Grippo's retrospective, the magnific Cisneros (Venezuela) and Júmex (Mexico) collections, Hélio Oiticica's Cosmococas project, and Gego's exhibition. Including also all the contemporary programme, specially Roberto Jacoby's Dark Room and the Re-colección (Re-Collection), a project that was born in our mounting room and that the Museum kindly offered to exhibit. Having said that, I also choose the watercolor Landscapes of the Tigre, by Fermín Eguía, that I positively link in my imagery with Vicente Grondona's journey paper notes, Pablo Zicarello's miniature photographs; Árbol Seco (Dead tree), by Beto de Volder and the capricious landscapes by Marcelo Pombo. Finally, I find the Fotoformas project by Geraldo de Barros to be relevant, objects and performances by Roxana Ramos, exquisite drawings by Analía Canal Feijoó, The “Caja Azul” (Blue Box) and the exhibition presented at the Residencia El Basilisco by Pablo Guiot, as well as the sculpture work by Sandro Pereira, his perforated portraits and small paintings.