Diego Bowie

Diego Bowie performing #TheRatOfArt.

Diego Bowie (born Diego Eduardo Lacayo Jaén) is a Panamanian artist, born September 19, 1991, currently based in Mexico City.

His work explores the perception of pop culture and technology through the use of live performances where the body serves as a medium to depict mental, emotional and social behaviors of the human condition, taking it to a point to discover the limits of the mind.

Diego Bowie began his career in the early 2000, in theatre work and public appearances, until he deeply immersed into the world of Performance Art, influenced by European body installation work.^[1]

Influences

His works are strongly influenced by the celebrity cult, mass media, the double moral of bullying and insecurity, social observation and criticism of the 1970s art movement with perceptions derived from Panamanian social life and attitudes.

Diego Bowie's visuals are a regeneration from fashion meeting art, where minimalism and slender cuts are mixed to create patterns for his performance installations. This creation is a deconstructed vision derived from years of education from his collection of over 200 Vogue magazines, and some L'Officiel, Harper's Bazaar, Numéro, Purple (magazine) amongst other editions that gave life to his ingrained aesthetics.

Performance Pieces

Early Work

"Extendam", performed at Miami Performance International Festival 2012

His first performance piece ‘’Fabgreen,’’ is a 5 hour portrayal of nature’s allure and glamour was showcased during Artblock, a Panamanian arts festival, in March 2011.

He followed with ‘’Alter Magnifique’’, a 6 hour piece depicting society’s addiction to media. The piece consisted of five television sets broadcasting images of popular culture (reality shows, political speeches, classical movies) while the artist – chained in the center of the room, reacted to the presented images. Alter Magnifique was showcased during Artblock in April 2011. The artist performed Defuse Magnifique, a sequel to Alter Magnifique. The piece was described as a commentary on the Stop Online Piracy Actmovement. The piece portrays the pain of withdrawal from the web and media. It featured the artist standing on an iron stool, attached to a three meter cable leading to a set of headphones playing a recorded manifesto. The five-hour piece was showcased at Tántalo Hotel Art Boutique, in Panama City, Panama, March 15, 2012.

Bowie contributed the piece Contempop for vOrtice, a Panamanian rock party hosted by a local group of artists. The piece explored 1960’s pop culture and its impact on contemporary society. The artist placed himself inside a plastic enclosure, his face replaced by images of media superstars. Panama City, Panama. April 28, 2012.

Naturiedad was a performance presented on April 21, 2012 at Festival Abierto, a Panamanian Art and Culture Festival. According to artist, the piece depicts the connection between human beings and Earth through light. The performance had the artist standing against a tree while images of Earth seen from space were projected on him.

He was selected to participate at the Miami Performance International Festival 2013, where he presented the performance "Extendam"^[2] at the Miami Design District.^[3][4][5]

On August 30, 2012 Bowie presented "Enjoy and I will (pretend to) care" at the Plastic Paradise Launch of Melissa Shoes Pop-Up Store. The artist described the piece as a commentary on social conformity and how society dictates behavior against individual will. During the performance, the audience was required to write down feelings, desires and secrets, while the artist played music and pretended to read the papers written by the audience.

Double-Up: Life Is a Fantasy

A video performance presented at the Emergency 2012 - Performance Festival in Manchester, UK, by Word of Warning, titled "Double Up: life is a fantasy by nature and we must create our own reality, before we lose our identity believing what we’re programmed to believe" explores the insecurity disguised as morality and questions society’s perspective and approach to reality.

Éclat Résumé (And its Variations)

During the LPM Live Performers Meeting 2013, celebrated at the Centro Nacional de las Artes in Mexico City, Mexico, Bowie premiered Éclat Résumé (And its Variations),^[6] a portrayal of hyper-beauty standards and their perception in daily life.^[7]

Reverse Vision Revolution

He performed at the Miami International Performance Festival 2013,^[8] with a piece titled "Reverse Vision Revolution", a commentary on the building development in Panama and its repercussions on the lower class.^[9]

Extendam Installations

During Extra! International Performance Festival, Bowie started developing a series of installations where the message of the work was communicated through tentacles that came out of his genitalia, with a pair of headphones attached to the end of each one. This gave a whole new continuation to the "Extendam" series, adding more tentacles every time, and increasing the time of the manifesto recordings.

#TheRatOFArt: Zones Art Fair during Art Basel

Diego Bowie performing #TheRatOfArt, during Zones Contemporary Art Fair. Miami, December 2013.

The piece #TheRatOfArt was presented by Bowie, in which he commented on the current beauty standards implied by the media in all aspects. He stood nude in front of a crowd trying to emulate the ideal outfit he was previously wearing, being defeated in the end because his actions wouldn't replicate the sublime perfection. Performed at Zones Contemporary Art Fair, parallel to the Art Basel Fair in Miami, December 2013.

References