Using Johan Huizinga’s theory of play, Gaston Bachelard’s poetic and phenomenological conceptions, Helio Oiticica’s ideas of “Creocio,” and Henri Bergson’s essay on laughter, El Colectivo brings the theory of contemporary art (and practice) to public spaces in a democratic and participatory manner, creating interventions that transform into poetic, collective actions and ephemeral art pieces.

In their project “Ways of Sculpting: garments for playing,” the artists explore the concept of intimate spaces and the dynamics that occur within them in everyday life. They are also interested in how we shape these spaces and the potential meanings that the use of everyday objects can have outside their strictly functional context.

For the realization of the project, a call was made for people interested in allowing the documentation of the “disorder” in their rooms, focusing mainly on the accumulation of clothes and accessories that are generated on desk chairs or other furniture (closets) in the private spaces of the participants.

The artwork interprets these disorderly configurations as intimate and ephemeral sculptural processes that result in the creation of contemporary images. This “sculptural exercise” can be discovered and documented, and anyone interested can enter the game of creating a “clothing sculpture” for a certain period of time (1 to 2 weeks), which is then captured in analog photography.

We can understand these sculptures as innocent and accidental constructions within contemporary thought, but it is worth noting that they also possess a strong sense of personality and intimacy. Not only is each piece unique in time and space, but each one is a direct representation of the sculptor’s subject.

The on-site exhibition presented a series of clothing and accessory sculptures, recreating the original forms found in the private rooms of the other participants. Accompanying the sculptures were photographs documenting the sculptures created in the homes of the initial participants, showcasing the intimate spaces and spontaneous constructions on the chairs.

The Collective is formed by artists José Oquendo (1993) and Christopher Torres Ticas (1993), who currently live and work in Guatemala City. Both artists hold Bachelor’s degrees in Art and have studied performance, curating, artistic research, cultural agency, and photography.