Humberto Vélez

The piece plays with the idea of the construction of the body and of the Panama Canal, central in the culture of that country. The artificial canal connects the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, and it is a feat of engineering that employed foreign manpower; from Jamaica, though born of Cuban parents, “the last builder” was hired at the age of 15 to make furrows. The Last Builder even explores features of the artist’s identity and synthetizes his social and artistic sensitivity.

Vélez initiated his career in the 1990’s, creating pieces in collaboration with persons because of their “ability to create aesthetics”, which has no relationship with the art circuit. Here he presents photographs and artistic records of remarkable performances and actions like El Contrapunto (del Arte), 2010, organized on the occasion of the International Congress of the Spanish Language in Chile. There, the popular artists planned to sing about art, but the texts were modified along the way by the payadores after the earthquake at Valparaíso which was occurring at that very moment. Vélez, who lives between Manchester and Rio de Janeiro, displays in addition the videos of The Fight (La pelea), 2007, a boxing performance at Tate Modern, London, and Le Plongeon (La zambullida), 2010, an aquatic cabaret performed in a Parisian pool for the Pompidou Center, with youths from popular boxing and swimming clubs. Against the current of the spectacular nature of contemporary art, the artist often embraces simplicity as in the case of La carrera, 2005, a sound installation which, precisely, sounds like the narration of a horse race; but the story is a different one.