El Pisito by Moises Yagues
The very nature of borders is, in itself, unnatural. Imaginary lines that criss-cross the surface of the planet creating a mosaic of countries large and small. Arbitrary boundaries that divide, contain and segregate people who believe themselves to be different from their neighbors.
Spanish artist Moises Yagües approaches this very controversial issue with a great deal of compassion and a good dose of irony. In his xylographs Yagües depicts the desperate journeys of thousands of men and women who risk everything in search of a better life. Using an archetypal border Yagües presents crossings of every imaginable fashion: by raft, by means of underground tunnels, through pipes, drains and even labyrinths. Nothing can stop the influx of the impoverished masses.
http://www.arthaus66.com/
In El Pisito (The Apartment) Yagües shows the crowded interior of a narrow house chock full of immigrants who contort their bodies trying to utilize every bit of available space. This can hardly be the life they were seeking. This foreign land delivers hardship and intolerance rather than the promise of abundance and opportunity.
In La Patera (The Raft) the tiniest of boats holds as many immigrants as it permits without sinking. They are adrift on a black, moonlit ocean perhaps having realized that, with all probability, they will not reach their destination. The anguish and hopelessness are perfectly captured by Yagües in the most elegant and explicit way.
Moises Yagües (1972) was born in Murcia, in Southeastern Spain. He is a master printer and one of the founders of La Persiana Naranja, a premier printmaking studio in Murcia. He has exhibited his work in Spain, Italy and Germany. The body of work now exhibited at ArtHaus66 Gallery was created in collaboration with Amnesty International.
To view the contemporary prints by Spanish artist Moises Yagues visit the ArtHaus66 Gallery website http://www.arthaus66.com
Photo:
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