Bayo Alvaro

Deli Gallery presents ¡Suéltame! an exhibition by Bayo Alvaro.

For anyone to demand their liberation, there are at least two forces in play. On the one hand, that of the oppressor and, on the other hand, that of the oppressed. However, when liberation is formulated imperatively and from within the self, the order of the factors change drastically; whoever is being oppressed has voluntarily decided to free themselves from those forces that contain, threaten, and offend. Contrary to what one might think, the moment of demanding combines many factors: the identification of the oppressor, the recognition of the oppressed body, but above all, the categorical and upright refusal to continue accepting this circumstance. Verbalizing what belongs to dignity. ¡Suéltame! (Let me go!) Alvaro uses vines, leaves, and roots of plants to weave a network of objects that, like the scent of a flower or the potency of a spell, seduce and enchant whoever looks at them. These knotted, intertwined, and living organisms that breathe, throb, and sweat stand up to orthogonal, rigid, white, and typically masculine structures. In Alvaro’s work, tenderness is the force that resists and opposes those systems- just like a flower that makes its way between the asphalt joints. Alvaro’s works flow elastically and continuously, sometimes overflowing, questioning and unfolding those unhealthy masculinities. With the sculptures Alvaro makes, the artist focuses on creating something that can exist between his own narratives and the denunciations of the structures of the masculine/patriarchal system. Through form, proportion, material, rhythm and color, Alvaro searches to let go of those rigid and suffocating structures. The sculptures also accentuate and conjure the internal forces that we do not see- tension, oppression, balance, anchoring, and seek through fluid and constant movement the liberation of one’s self. For the artist, each sculpture becomes its own organism- a complex network of corporeal information, kinetic energy, and magic.

— Deli Gallery