08: 4 PLay
Rafael Galvez, Wendy Wischer, Jose Reyes and Charo Oquet

September 23 to October 21, 2000 

'4PLAY' A GROUP SHOW OF FOUR MIAMI ARTISTS.
 
WENDY WISCHER

"He said she had the mouth of a cocksucker"
A provocative installation of 26 photographs of a woman's mouth, both innocent and seductive, provides a poignant scenario of miscommunication alluding to the struggle between reality and perception.
 
JOSE REYES

I am going to produce an installation, yet "untitled" revolving around a door. This door represents the idea of being an 'artist'. Intentionally satirical and somewhat developed out of the conversations that led to this show. It is about the false sense of grandeur placed on artists.
You could say: installation by Jose Reyes. Keep it simple.
 
RAFAEL GALVEZ

Although various different strands of themes and symbols are currently knitting my work, I cannot remove from center of focus a kind of "way to the sky," whose trace I seem to be fascinated with. As obvious ambassadors to the heavens I have chosen the birds. After having spent much time concentrated over preserved bird skins of various specimens, my initial anxiety over the special kind of detail demanded from the avian kin has given way to a different kind of curiosity. I must confess that I've been a birder for many years now, but unlike the sportsman I've failed to become satisfied with checklists. I've been quietly uncovering the presence of winged creatures all around us; there is much need in cataloguing all that humanity has extracted from our shared existence. We've recognized their influence on our technology, and we seem to be emerging on our race to the heavens. Despite their lightweight and apparent fragility a few species thrive among us, quickly assimilating to our developed form of life.

Surprisingly, after having had connected birds to angels and demons, airplanes and aerodynamic structures of all kinds, I cannot help but returning to the "tree." Pale-Ornithologists today are uncovering links that connect birds to dinosaurs. Perhaps, to such marginal species as the legendary Archaeopteryx (ancient wing, 138 million years ago), the "tree" served as the initial springboard that has sent its descendants (and our aspirations) to the skies. The archaic creature has been thought to launch its reptilian, yet feathered body from tree limbs as a means of airlift and mobility. Intriguingly, I've come to recognize that humans through the ages have used the tree in a similar fashion. I've developed an endearment to creation myths. The Huluppu tree is a prominent figure in the ancient Sumerian poem of Inanna, thought by archeologists to be the earliest written document known to humanity. The Maya revered "the tree at the center of the cosmos," and after oppression from the Conquest, found a way to reinterpret the most Christian of symbols, the cross, as their World Tree of the Center or yax che'il kab. Interestingly, the tree manages to appear the apex of the book of Genesis, harboring truth and knowledge.

Over a decade ago, when I first began my excursions through the Cypress forests of South Florida, my mind made an eerie set of connections to the trees. The dwarf Bald Cypress of Pa-hay-okee are deciduous trees, and loose their leaves during the months of winter, leaving bleached woody stalks. As the trees grow and gather in domed formations, for reasons not completely clearly known (yet related to the continual flooding of the forest floor and the nutrients in the soil), taller and grander Cypresses gather at the center of such wooded patches. At the shores of these Cypress domes linger the smallest trees, dispersing almost aimlessly through the vast sawgrass prairies. During winter, I mistakenly recognized these as the whitened crosses or a nameless graveyard. With roots firm into the ground, the trees rise up and brush the sky. Our individual lineage runs somewhere, through one of their veins.

I will attempt to bring these connections together in a physical display. I will paint the cosmos on the wall, in a way reminiscent of the Maya codices crafted as murals, yet simplified by a flare of 21st century streetsmart culture. The Cypress Dome, the Huluppu tree, the nameless cross, as a group will have their representatives laying across the floor. But central to the display will run a strand of drawings representing the birth and development of a feather into a bird, which eventually leaves its nest. A creation story.
 
CHARO OQUET

Although I have been a painter for many years my recent work has been dedicated my time to doing sculptural installations. However the desire to paint has been creeping up on me once again. In the last four years I have been making trips to the Dominican Republic to study Dominican culture: particularly the African influence. I began noticing certain markings on the facades of the houses as well as on the doors. The markings remind me of Veves, which is a form of magic writing used in Voodoo and in some African religions. I am fascinated with the idea of the Ethiopian scrolls, which when viewed have the power to heal. Likewise the Chinese scroll painting with is landscape hand scroll maki-mono (a pictorial rather than narrative form of writing that should only be viewed two feet at a time). I have become interested in the idea of paintings as markings; paintings with which you did not just get a visual narrative of my ideas, but rather a mark that when viewed has powers of its own. These markings have a sort of healing/protective or even repelling power to the viewer as well as the inhabitants of where the mark is located.

In the current piece that I am creating, I want to combine my sculptures with painting. Sacred vessels and the idea of placing sacred vessels in specific places where some sort of conflict has occurred. These pieces have some sort of healing power over their environment. These sculptures are marked with these types of writing. They will be moved from sacred space to sacred space. This Locust Projects exhibit will be one of my sacred sites. These same pieces will travel to other sacred sites, fulfilling their purpose, and highlighting a certain area of Miami. There may be other sites nationally and internationally. I feel the Design District is on its moment of transformation and changing a dilapidated area into a safe and pleasant place to live and work. Artists are sent at certain times to heal places and situations. This is why we are known for changing areas around, like Soho, SoBe, etc.

My interest in combining objects and recreating objects from found things will also be explored. This installation will be made up of five wooden sculptures that will then be painted and dressed with things like flowers, crepe paper, fabric and other found objects and to be transformed into altar-like pieces.
 
The opening reception is on Saturday September 23, 8-11pm; LOCUST PROJECTS is open Saturdays 12-4. All Other times please call for appointment (305) 576-8570.