Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 42
Occupation: Artist.
Instagram: @alejandrogarciacontreras
Hometown: Tapachula Chiapas, México.
Studio location: Guadalajara, Jalisco, México.
Describe what you make: My work is a mix of different arts practices that evoke a collage of beliefs, myths, and human questions, in relation with existence and spiritually.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: Not an object at all—a mental map. A sort of spider web were all my references and investigations works like an alphabet or references for my art and life.
Describe the problem your work solves: I don’t think my work resolves a problem. My goal is more about creating questions about what we are and why we believe in what we believe.
Describe the project you are working on now: I’m working on a multidisciplinary show for Pioneer Works where I’ll be mixing different parts of my practice like sculpture in concrete, ceramic, painting, and video. I’ll be working on-site here during a residency where I’ll create the whole exhibition.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: I’m working with the Bibliothèque Polonaise de Paris in a duo show with one of the most important Polish artists from the 20th century, Boleslaw Biegas. It’s opening next year in October.
What you do when you’re not working: I don’t consider my practice as “work.” For me, it’s more like a playful place. So every activity became a part of my research for art: reading a book, having sex, watching a landscape, traveling. Everything is connected to my practice and every time can be a creative moment.
Sources of creative envy: Ancient art from Sumeria and Egypt, Medieval art, artists like William Blake, Gustave Moreau, Boleslaw Biegas. Natural history museums, especially dinosaur fossils, and the history of every place I’ve traveled.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Bureaucratic stuff and paperwork. I really hate that part of adult and “professional” life.
Concrete or marble? Concrete.
High-rise or townhouse? Townhouse.
Remember or forget? Remember. That’s my problem in life.
Aliens or ghosts? Both.
Dark or light? Both.
Portrait courtesy of the artist.
