en
/
es
Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa

ARTBO 2015

ARTBO Bogota International Art Fair, Bogota, Colombia
Booth A67

In “The Tongue Black of Licking the Night So Much” we meet some of the most recent works of Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, with great poetic content. Among them, “The Heart of Scarecrow” is presented for the first time. It is a collection of nine aquatints inspired by the play of the same name, written by the dramatist Hugo Carrillo. The play, which premiered in Guatemala in 1975, was highly critical of the power hierarchies and sought to generate reflection on the need for a profound socio-political change in the country, to get out of the oppressive military governments, and to imagine a society more fair and inclusive. However, and as expected, several members of the theater company were intimidated by physical violence and threats, and the work was censored, not even  remaining a photographic record of it. The nine engravings of this series result in scenes imagined by the artist, and constructed from different stories of his uncles, who participated with secondary roles in the production of the play. Also presented is “Geometric Body # 21/24” consisting of four wood-engraved wooden plates, inked in black. These tables have different geometric patterns and although they are ready to be engraved, they have never been pressed. The artist clarifies that if they are used, both the tables and the engravings that result would cease to be original works of his, thus limiting his potential for reproduction. In addition, the video documentation of “Feather Piece” is presented, a live performance performed at Castello Di Rivoli in Italy in 2013, which refers to both the Mayan worldview and the myth of Icarus. During the action, the artist pierces a row of black feathers along his left arm. Then, he stands up and moves his arm, feeling how his black feathers react subtly before each tiny movement of his body. Finally, unable to fly, the artist plucks himself, and walks out of the room where the action took place. Finally, the spectators will be able to hear “The songs of extinct birds previously unknown by science but recovered through seances No. 2”, in which through different collective and individual spiritualist sessions, Ramírez-Figueroa has managed to recover the songs of several birds that no longer inhabit our universe.