Omar Zurita

The series Headphones presented by Omar Zurita is a sarcastic comment of the world we live in. Omar uses very strong images but above all human, even if some viewers might find these grotesque. Themes such as: pedophilia, deception, vanity, lies and corruption. Each painting is a story that regardless the prevailing sexuality represents the isolation to which humanity is exposed to, on a daily basis, caused by our almost obsessive use of technology.

Sex sells. The human body has always been treated as an object of desire and even used for economic transactions. Despite this reality, the naked body still causes concern. Images and the representations of our sexual organs tend to disturb and produce nervous giggles. Maude Lebowski, artist and heiress is a fictional character from the movie The Big Lebowski (1998) in the scene where she meets the (anti) hero: the Dude, she inquires if the female form makes him uncomfortable. When she does not get a clear answer to her question, she says: "My art has been commended as being strongly vaginal which bothers some men. The word itself makes some men uncomfortable. Vagina… Yes, they don't like hearing it and find it difficult to say whereas without batting an eye a man will refer to his dick or his rod or his Johnson.” Both Maude and Omar have displeased certain spectators, one of the main reasons being; the non-representation of perfect bodies that comply with a beauty canon that is increasingly plastic and à la carte.

Our culture and society have encouraged distinct differences amongst us, unfortunately not always with positive results. For a long time the cult to our bodies has been cemented through the imposition of impossible physical models, evidencing the prejudice that exists, to that which is different. The developments in medical technology allow bodies to be manufactured emphasizing a harmful and exclusive canon. Nowadays, technology occupies a very important part in our lives; we expose and show ourselves though digital media. Precisely social media is our connection to the world, however that apparent connection through data exchange, causes an emotional disconnection, clearly represented in Headphones. Through the rawness of his images, Zurita, forces us to rethink our priorities as a society.
Klandestina Gallery