CURIOSOS IMPERTINENTES

José Arturo Martín and Javier Sicilia (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1974; La Laguna, 1971) are two Canarian artists who have been working together on the same project for five years. One of the constants in their work, apart from irony and parody as strategies of engagement, is compulsive self-portraiture. They are the protagonists of all the adventures they have been able to carry out, with the healthy intention of reinventing themselves and, if possible, questioning their own profession.

On this occasion, they are presented at the Miguel Marcos Gallery in Barcelona during October–November 2000, to narrate the chronicle of a tragic search for IDENTITY—tragic because they already know in advance that they will arrive at a solution with a very short expiration date. José Arturo Martín and Javier Sicilia, assuming that there are no flags left to raise, anthems to sing, territories to defend, or uniforms to feel, devote themselves to dressing in disguise according to their whim and inclination. In times of peace, harmony, and decay, they turn to their “wardrobe” to look for an identity that fits them. However, the range available is so vast that choosing the right outfit becomes a task that will surely lead to mistakes… because who wears the same suit all their life?

In their exploration of behavioural models with which to identify, they recover, for example, the figure of the Dandy—an individualistic character of discreet distinction, natural yet unmistakable at the same time. A being eminently social, yet one who maintained a certain defiance towards the social norms of the time, taking advantage of the conventions of the then-emerging bourgeois society in order to subject them to personal use only. Another figure they revisit is the Diva, a woman who believed so strongly in her own virtues that she felt compelled to demand devotion from her admirers.

Such models, of highly questionable reputation, along with others, form part of José Arturo Martín and Javier Sicilia’s exhaustive search for an operative identity and a tailor-made platform from which to begin telling stories—without preaching too much, of course.

José Arturo Martín and Javier Sicilia