A dynamic duo of art has come together to share the collective memories of Yucatán.
A book published by La Cúpula Cultural Center, “ORLAN y Demián Flores en Mérida,” documents the relationship between the provocative French artist and the contemporary painter and sculptor from Oaxaca.
“There is an element that is memory, which always tends to get lost,” says María Teresa Mézquita Méndez, director of FILEY, the Yucatán International Reading Fair, praising the book for its vivid and authentic images and voices.
The artists presented “Hibridation” last year at the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya. It was so successful, they decided to record their experiences here in a book for posterity.
“They are not impulsive works, but rather thoughtful and meditated, an approach to cultures,” said María Teresa Mézquita.
Orlan, is a world-renowned French artist who has made use of photography, sculpture, performance, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence in her works. She once famously sued Lady Gaga for plagiarism, only to lose and be ordered to pay the pop star’s legal bills.
Demián Flores is a contemporary painter from Oaxaca who has become known for his sculptures, drawings, and graphics. His paintings have a dream-like quality and mix images from Mexico’s past and present, from the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl to celebrated political figure Benito Juárez and contemporary comic book characters.
The book (400 pesos) is for sale Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at the Fundación La Cúpula, Calle 54, between 41 and 43, from 3 to 8 p.m.
Presenting the book were Loreto Villanueva Trujillo, Secretary of Culture and the Arts (Sedeculta) of Yucatán; Leila Godet Voight, founder of La Cúpula and curator of the exhibition “Hybridizations,” Domingo Rodríguez Semerena and Luis Alberto Rivas Polanco, who is Fundación La Cúpula’s treasurer.
