LIMITS OVERFLOW

Limits Overflow looks beyond the border of gender identity imposed by society. It aims to situate gender beyond the actual sex and thus away from the definitions constructed through history.

Identity is formed from the recognition of the other. It is necessary to know what one is not, to be oneself and consider personal features to reassert them as an individual or group. The conception of otherness has brought serious consequences throughout history, such as discrimination. In the case of women, male ideological hegemony has constructed paradigms around femininity, so that both men and women have anti-female feelings because of being considered the other.

The curatorship follows three main lines with the intent to deconstruct the concept of the feminine as; the inner, corporeal and social being. The works are intended to show aspects of being where gender is irrelevant, as the essence, the creation of individual spaces and the body form. And blur the boundaries between the Self and the Other, to create a dialogue born from the otherness where the female identity is not the opposite of male.

At the time of overflow, the characteristics claimed as their own lose their value. An identity constructed from habit crumbles, leaving a fertile ground for a redefinition of the self in order to bring about change in our idiosyncrasy.

- Melissa Mota

NANTLI, Didi Castrovalle

NANTLI takes its name from the Nahuatl word which means mother. The book seeks to accomplish what the practice of yoga mudra yoni "obtained by blocking the sensory orifices (ears, eyes, nose and mouth) to abstract within us and invoke the primal energy inherent in the matrix. The piece of sculpture symbolizes the "yoni", a word which in Sanskrit means the source of origin of life and refers to the female reproductive tract. Within the Yoni is an audio piece that simulates what the fetus hears inside the womb of the mother. The intention of the work is that the viewer interacts with NANTLI ¨and experiences rebirth introversion when leaving the yoni”.

- Didi Castrovalle

didiok@mac.com

http://www.myspace.com/didiokmusic

NEST, Fabiola Menchelli

NEST is a project that aims to explore the relationship created between the individual and its surrounding. Human beings have long distinguished themselves form animals in that they are the only ones that decorate the space they inhabit. It is the creation of a home that reaffirms their existence, and at the same time, reiterates their place in the world.

However, a real home is perceived to have no physical definition and neither does it have a specific relation to a gender. Instead, home is conceived as a multidimensional state of mind that relates directly to the emotional connection of the individual and the space it inhabits. Home, therefore, is a mental and emotional state of shelter and comfort, where the person can be without restrictions.

The central idea of this project is to create a home that reflects the person’s emotional bond with the place. The architecture of this home is not built by walls, but it is built around the body and according to its necessities. The home created is a result of the interior space of the person, which is projected in return to the exterior. It is through time and space that this connection is created.

The project comprises a series of 5 performances documented in the form of video time-lapse. The different locations were chosen to represent different aspects of the individual’s life, in relation with its own environment. Each performance consists in the creation of a home that allows the artist to sit and read a book from start to finish in 12 hours.
The book represents individualism brought to its maximum exponent. While reading, the person is wrapped up in its own mind, creating a link with the book that comes alive in one’s imagination. The conception of this whole world is represented in the performance, when the interior world is projected to the outside and becomes in turn part of the individual experience. Thus, the creation of this individual space becomes all together multidimensional.

The work consists of several parts. The title of each piece belongs to the book that was read by the artist at each performance, giving the book a direct connection with the piece. The documentation of the performance is presented in the form of a time-lapse video, along with the installation of the objects used at each scene. Finally, a photograph of the last moment of performance hangs from the wall.

NEST aims to portray ideas of space and time, the self and the other, individualism and collectiveness, as well as the manifestation of interior spaces in the public sphere.

- Fabiola Menchelli

Fabiola.Menchelli@gmail.com

http://fabiolamenchelli.tumblr.com/

MYTHS, Jennifer Yamanaka

MYTHS. The human being creates and explains the world from myths. The term mythos, in classical Greek refers to “words with action” or “speech” and by extension, a “ritualized speech act.” Its function is to provide a narrative support to the fundamental beliefs of the community and its importance lies in the underlying worldview of a culture.

The myth, in many cases, is represented by objects to which we attach a meaning. Through them, all the myths that our society is creating can be reflected, as well as gender differences and individuals themselves.

Since the twentieth century the development of Western women in society has changed dramatically. In the contemporary world this is characterized by women taking full ownership of many aspects of life, invading universities and competing with men in all areas of society. Meanwhile, man has had to adapt to this change, confronting increased competition at the working level and a new equality of activities both at home.

This work consists of objects that symbolize power donated by people from different genders and professions. The items that arrived were varied, including documents, photographs, records and diverse equipment which were suspended, marking a division between male and female objects. This allows analyzing the idea of otherness that arises by reference search identification and sends us back to our similarities and differences, which allows for social changes in perception over the other.
The color points to the myth of gold, referring to the significant value of the items donated. Through this, it is seeking to annul the particularity of each object via homogenization.

The intention of this work is to standardize the concept of power in both female and male, and the representation of individual power and the myths that are represented in these objects.

- Jennifer Yamanaka

jennieyams@hotmail.com

LOOK THIS IS ME, Maj Britt Jensen

LOOK THIS IS ME. After exploring language in her personal work, Maj Britt Jensen, investigates the body as the source of work. Everything happens in private and the actions are constructed for the camera.

-Maj Britt Jensen

majjensenmexiko@yahoo.de

IN-VISIBLE, Claudia Espinosa Ramos

IN-VISIBLE. This photographic project is a critique to the Macho way of thinking embedded in Mexican and other Latino societies. I aim to raise consciousness about the way language is used as a way of perpetuating Machismo, being rooted in the core of our most common thoughts and sayings. Society is shaped through language; the way in which we use words to name the world is a reflection of the way we perceive it and the language we speak is what moulds our thoughts and beliefs. Society has underestimated the influence words have upon us.

In-visible portrays Latin American individuals with different phrases tattooed over their bodies. These phrases are ones we use on a regular basis in Mexico, some of them are more subtle than others, but they all have the essence of the Macho way of thinking implicit in them. It is through the repetition of these phrases that Macho concepts are embedded in people’s consciousness, which later on translate into violent actions, whether psychological or physical. People are raised with a line of thought in which “All men are the same,” “This is not a girls game,” or doing certain things are considered “gay” because they are thought to be exclusively feminine, consequently feeding misogyny.

This project invites the viewer to question her/himself about the way they have been raised, they way they use language and how they might be participating in this line of thought without even being aware of it. By playing with the concept of tattooing, In-visible creates a visual metaphor in which the individuals portrayed are psychologically tattooed by the everyday phrases they have written on their skin.

I intend to make the viewer reflect about how this kind of upbringing affects us as both men and women and I believe that we need to question our ways in order to reshape society. By eliminating certain phrases, rethinking the way we use language and renaming the world in an inclusive, non-misogynistic and more equalitarian way, we can start changing people’s mindset.

The photographs are printed in offset, in a rotary printing press on newspaper. There are 8,000 pieces, 2,000 for each of the different four images. This technique was chosen because the material is something familiar to everyone. The newspaper invites the spectator to take it and own it, leaving the frame and glass barrier behind.

In order to achieve its objective, In-visible will be placed as an installation in common places in the streets of Mexico City, where the general public may see it in places such as different subway stations and on city walls during the summer of 2010. In some public spaces spectators will be encouraged to take a free photograph, giving them the opportunity to own an original art piece, thus helping to close the gap between the art world and the general low income public.


There will be a documentation of the installation on the streets as well as the public´s reaction to the art piece.

- Claudia Espinosa Ramos

contactme@cerrucha.com

http://cerrucha.com/