François Duvalier, 70 x 62 inches, 178 x 157 cm, 2009, Charcoal and Graphite on Canvas. Installation view at ICA Miami 2015
As Defacing art project comes to an end, I wanted to clarify its bases.
Defacing art project was imagined with a simple idea, naturally, to change the perception of the past and to create a new future, which will in turn become our present. As impossible as it may seem, it was poetic and plausible to me.
‘Living in the past’ is a condition of many immigrants, and I wanted to change this aspect of their lives. It is this way with my family, my people and all those who are in this situation of emotional limbo. Defacing Art project allows for the public to contribute to the artwork by painting on it, a real visual therapy. Rebuilding or maculating an iconographic image of our past can potentially change it or the perception of it, and then build a different future from this new landmark. Defacing is a project that invites to experiment with icons in the present while being aware that this is relative to the past.