Edgardo Aragón Díaz (MX)

°1985

The collective, historical memory and personal memory are intertwined in the work of artist Edgardo Aragón Díaz, who revisits the past through remakes and films –which allow him to retell stories and bring them back into circulation. He links those stories to stories about his own family, about living conditions in Mexico and in the state of Oaxaca where he was born. This approach, which replaces moral judgments with emotional ties, allows us to look at these themes from a different perspective than the one usually presented in the media. 

Hunter (2013)

video, sound, 9’34”

In Hunter an African man gives a guided tour of a Belgian zoo. He sings songs about hunting in his homeland. Sometimes he seems to be directly addressing the animals in captivity. The artist draws attention to the contrast between the quality of life of immigrants from post-colonial countries and the protected life led by the animals in the zoo. 

Produced by Contour 2013.

Family Effects (2007-2009)

video, sound, 26’

Family Effects consists of dramatic scenes that together could be interpreted as the Stations of the Cross. The video interacts with the stone reliefs of the way of the cross in the church itself. For this work, Aragón Díaz asked a few young members of his family to re-enact episodes from their family history. Like the history of Mexico, it is laced with stories about ‘illegal drug trafficking, corrupt/rogue politics, organised crime, unlawful landowning and social corruption’, according to the artist. He asked the children to act out their scenes in places where he often spent time during his youth. They are too young to be aware of their turbulent family history, but the consequences are still tangible for them in the form of social stigmas.