MARTIEL AND THE BODY AS ACTION AGAINST EXCLUSION, AT CENTRE DEL CARME
The Valencian Centre del Carme presents South Body, a broad selection of recent performance documentation by Carlos Martiel (Havana, Cuba, 1989). Through photographs and videos, the exhibition explores the relationship between racism and xenophobia and the way the body becomes the materialization of exclusion. This corporeal object, or objectified body, is employed by the artist as a medium to express cries of resistance and to propose critical reflections on power structures and their influence on the construction of contemporary society.
Martiel’s corpus revolves around the investigation of the body as a political and historical archive. In most of his performances, colonialism serves as a starting point and an instrumental element for the persistence of systemic relations of marginalization, power, and control. His bodily language not only makes this violence visible but also highlights the transformation of vulnerability into strength.
South Body is structured around three spaces, conceived from a geopolitical and symbolic perspective, which reveal patterns and paradigms of racism and exclusion. The exhibition relies on the pervasive construction of narrative to critique and deconstruct its validity. In the United States, where the artist currently resides, Martiel confronts the hypocrisy of a state that channels its discourse around freedom while reality reinforces hierarchies rooted in discrimination.
In Europe, his body addresses the drama of the Mediterranean, advocating for a critical view of institutional narratives. In Latin America, his performative actions aim to make colonialism visible as a tool for denying racism. Immigrants and racial minorities thus become indispensable elements in maintaining a society built on exclusion and precariousness, and Martiel incorporates this political dimension into his performances, claiming it through his body.
South Body. Carlos Martiel can be visited until January 11 at Centre del Carme, Museu, 2, Valencia, Spain.
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