CREPE GARDEN

Projeto Parede MAM - Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo
09 may - 19 august
2018

This work of Gustavo Rezende multiplies characters in vigilance and physical confrontation. Among the figures, the silhouette of the artist himself is often repeated. He has worked self-portrait throughout his production, placing himself in different contexts. In this frieze designed for Projeto Parede, the reference to oneself is added by other subjects, creating a sequence of men resembling, but clearly distinguished by the position of vigilante, aggressor or victim. To emphasize the difference in power between the parties, there are also horses that put the watchmen in a superior position. The whole is organized as a landscape, with irregularly distributed groups, creating different heights that represent elements ahead or more distant, but the neutral background color and the absence of relief or vegetation prevent us from identifying the place of action: Is it a festival, a pitched battle, or a demonstration?

On the one hand, the repetition of faceless characters suggests that the different roles in violent confrontation are different sides of the same person: the watcher, the repressor, and the victim are all within us. On the other hand, this repetition indicates a homogeneous distribution of such attitudes in society: we live so immersed in violence that we no longer differentiate the sides in conflict. As a unifying element, Gustavo Rezende uses the crepe tape, which creates a unique texture and color for the entire composition, while nullifying the details of the features and taking away the individuality of the characters.