The work of Javier Pérez (Bilbao, 1969) is essentially sculptural and is defined by the unusual placement of patterns in the treatment of matter and space. For his work he produces devices that are called to play the role of second skin which, like a mask, triggers and fosters experiences which are usually traumatic: tension, instability due to continuous change, extreme vulnerability, impossibility and desire, or repulsion and dependence, where the material that this new skin is made from plays a key role.
The three pieces that make up this exhibition: Diálogo (1993), Hábito (1996) and Látigo (1998) are based on the concepts of metamorphosis and mutation with regards to temporary agents. Furthermore, because of the use of degradable materials, such as a chrysalis or horse hair, he transforms sculptural work into a temporary process. In this sense, and in reference to the piece Hábito, Perez endows the silkworm with a performative element. Thus, the huge overcoat that represents the work -made up from hundreds of silkworm cocoons- is subjected to a continuous transformation, given the organic nature of this unusual textile. The work is completed -according to the natural cycle- with the projection of a video showing the entire process of metamorphosis from the chrysalis through an enlarged plane of part of the dress. By choosing video or performance or in other cases photography and drawing the artist expands the discursive and visual possibilities of sculpture, allowing him to achieve total development of the idea. Add to that an acceptance of silence as artistic factor. Appealing to synaesthesia - the artist demands visual silence - the spectator reaches an optimum state which is the solemn contemplation of his works.
The pieces collected for this exhibition embody concepts of hybridisation and transformation. Thus, in Látigo, the artist covers his face with a mask-wig, which thus eliminates facial senses and triggers a savage violence. The result is an image of a ponytail agitated by the convulsive movements of the head of the artist himself.
Conversely, what is human (spiritual and sensory conception) contrasts with the body in regards to carnality (sensuality/lasciviousness), trying for a reconciliation of opposites (in his works). Thus, the body in its physical sense appears as an obstacle preventing the interpersonal relationship in the piece Diálogo. Composed of an orthopaedic structure, this corset is prolonged with excessively long arms and shows the impossibility of need for a relationship and contact with the other, as well as the construction of the "I"
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