Tiago Alexandre, “Entre o boné e os ténis”
Who me?
Tiago Alexandre, in his first decade of activity as an artist and curator, as set himself as a foremost name in the ‘SUB 30’ geration, that has had their coming of age in this new millennium. Combining diverse formal resources with the consistency and complementarity of the issues adressed, makes Tiago Alexandre particularly compeling when it comes to discovering a unique artist, but also for the possibility of capturing the ‘spirit of our times.
The first individual exhibition at Galeria Graça Brandão is fully representative of this diversity and consistency. Material wise we notice an effective mastering of video (original or appropriated), painting (oil paste on paper), drawing (in this case, on wall and we must emphasize the manual and repetitive pattern of the drawing) or sculpted objects (original or appropriated). In all working arrangements, the relevance given to rhythms and patterns stands out (staging of the tempos for perception and focus) through a rigorous control of sound and light that constitutes somewhat of a virtual guide to the exhibition. What are the entwined themes that exhibition proposes? The answer may start with the title: ‘Between The Cap And The Sneakers’.
In between the sneakers and the cap there is usually a body, maybe a relatively young body, more prone to this kind of props, maybe a body with a reasonable potential for growth and transformation. It’s what we would call a socialization and individual identity construction process, that being permanent, is nonetheless more intense in certain periods. Here arise references to the singularity of a biographic route that, because it is unique (like all), still directs us to universal experiences, such as the family each of us is given (Mom&Dad, Dancing Days), adventures and misfortunes of juvenile games and culture, the invention and staging of oneself, while forms of negotiation and interacting with the common authority entities. The invention and staging of oneself are inseparable from the relationship with objects, such as caps, hats, shirts or small motorcycles, that today, are also inseparable from brand cult, which symbolic and cultural relevance goes way beyond the simple economic marketing. Without forgetting that brands are also graphic entities, surrounded by music and light. We see references to Los Angeles, home of Hollywood stardom, washed by an ocean that doesn’t reach Sacavém. A troubled mind covered with diamonds (?). We see an infinite path inside a maze from which one never comes out, but where you can still find a ‘smile’ (‘Stand by me’, remember the film, and also River Phoenix). I’ve been told that this maze is usually inhabited by ‘mutant fiends’ that we do not see here, maybe because they’ve been replaced by us. We, the visitors, to whom are targeted the inscriptions on the caps.
“Every move you make“, “Every word you say“. Who, me?
Alexandre Melo
Download PDF
