Alexander and Bonin

Diango Hernández

01 Dec 2007 - 12 Jan 2008

DIANGO HERNÁNDEZ
“...Objects of Ridicule”

An exhibition of new work by Diango Hernández will open on December 1st at Alexander and Bonin. This will be the artist’s second one-person exhibition at the gallery.

Hernández’s new work addresses conflict as a mirror reflection of political objectives onto historical surfaces. The distortions created by the reflected images of tangible examples such as borders, oil, and bombs onto the non-tangible language of prejudice, political slogans, and ideologies become, in the artist’s words, ‘objects of ridicule.’

“...Objects of Ridicule” will consist of two sculptural installations: My Symmetry and waves inside my room. My Symmetry, a series of window frames with louvers, will divide the main space into two equal parts. Each louver will be engraved ‘PATRIA O MUERTE’ on one side and ‘IN GOD WE TRUST’ on the other. The louvers can be rotated individually to create either a consistent wall of one motto or a mixed wall of both the Cuban and U.S. national maxims, allowing for different interpretations of the ideological role of this installation.

waves inside my room is a suspended ceiling made of 280 wooden, 1950s-style radio backs. This work also acts as a division of space, but in this case, the mirrored image on the opposite side is hidden. waves inside my room reflects the complicated relationship created by the exertion of dominance by the Northern Hemisphere over the Southern Hemisphere. This installation allows the visitor to become the vehicle through which news, opinions, and propaganda are communicated.

Diango Hernández began his artistic practice in Cuba in 1994 as a co-founder of Ordo Amoris Cabinet, a group of artists and designers who focused on invented solutions for home design objects to compensate for a permanent shortage of materials and goods.
Born in 1970 in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, the artist moved to Europe in 2003 and currently lives and works in Düsseldorf. In 2006, his work was the subject of a solo exhibition at the Kunsthalle, Basel and in 2007, at the Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, Aachen. His work was exhibited in the Arsenale as part of the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005, and in 2006, he exhibited at the Biennale of Sydney and the São Paulo Biennial.
 

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