Juan Davila - Schreber’s Semblance

1993
Australia

Mixed
252 x 240 cm

(click to enlarge)

One of the weightiest current artists clearly used the worn-out methods of violence, sex, and pop to gain awareness at the last documenta 12, the world's biggest exposition of contemporary art, held in Kassel Germany. Nevertheless, what does this chilean want to say with his colorful, mixed, homo-erotic narrations of masturbation, bestial sex, war and rape?

Schreber’s Semblance certainly has a lot of details to be interpreted: the american eagle as a raper, the swastika replacing the US constellation, an eye coming out of the victim ass, his leg popping out of the picture as a 3d shape, the orgasm and the subtitle "bring our boys home". Most of the people were standing at it for a long time, shooting, discussing or just staring. Is it just another outdated anti-america manifestation and revolutionary latin cliche or the whole point of it is to cause bewilderment and shake all the viewer's dogmas and signs of alienation?

Both and none. Indeed, when his whole work is analysed, a lot of these subjects come out, patriotism, violation of the native culture, late capitalism, all the traumas of latin america, even art itself. However, Juan Davila's aim is to inject political and cultural enlightment in our unconscious mind, the shocking language should make it effective and yet the questioning consequences should bloom out somewhen.