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Said Dokins, Story Collector

We are made from stories of our experience; our lives are based on memories and events of the past, as if it was a book with multiple intertwined stories. Stories are universal because they go beyond cultural, linguistic, or age differences and we usually relate to each other through information told in a narrative form, be it visual, textual, or sign.

The Mexican artist Said Dokins has developed a body of work based on his reflections on history, collective memory, and participation. For more than a decade he has collected various stories through interviews, videos, objects, photographs, words, drawings, or actions that serve as an object of deconstruction, transferring these stories to his own visual language.

Through calligraphy and the encryption of signs, he creates cartographies, questions, or representations in which he values ​​contextual statements and where those thoughts become form.

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Polyphony

In this mural entitled Eclipse, Said Dokins refers to the multiplicity of possible definitions of a city like Vienna, asking passers-by to define or tell a story of their own experience in the place using a single word. Each word that people provide, Dokins integrates into his mural intervention, creating a single collective definition of Vienna from the multiplicity of definitions, encrypted in his personal calligraphic style. In this work, Dokins shows that there is no single vision of the city or the world, that there is no uniqueness of reality, but that the agency of art could be precisely articulating or harmonizing polyphony.

Calle Libre Festival

RE:PRESENT is the general topic for the 8th edition of the Calle Libre Festival.

The topic finds its roots in the current new waves of political illiberalism, social polarisation, and the obsession with security. In the wake of growing divisions and polarisations, it seems fundamental to look at the heterogeneity of our shared pasts.

Indeed, these trends find their roots in centuries of colonial past, cultural appropriation and subjugation of collective memories. For too long realities have been taken out of their native contexts, leading to skewed representations of identities, cultures and peoples. These misrepresentations have caused many divides in our societies, manifested through racism, xenophobia or the “othering” of those who do not share our same customs or traditions. Undeniably, the time has come to reclaim and rethink the history and agency of those who were dispossessed and subordinated by Imperialism in its various forms. 

Through a number of artworks in the public space as well as some inside the Weltmuseum Wien, international and local artists will have the opportunity to present new visual worlds and novel patterns of interpretation of their socio-cultural realities and their peoples’ collective memories. Specifically, this edition’s artworks aim to foster honest dialogue, to overcome stereotypes shaped by art history, and to come closer to the deconstruction of hegemonic imagery.

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Said Dokins, coleccionista de historias

Estamos hechos a partir de historias de nuestra experiencia; nuestras vidas están basadas en recuerdos y eventos del pasado, como si se tratase de un libro con múltiples historias entrelazadas. Las historias son universales porque van más allá de las diferencias culturales, lingüísticas o etarias y por lo regular nos relacionamos a partir de la información contada en forma de narrativa, ya sea visual, textual o sígnica.  

El artista mexicano Said Dokins ha desarrollado un cuerpo de trabajo basado en la reflexión sobre la historia, la memoria colectiva y la participación. Desde hace más de una década ha coleccionado diversas historias a través de entrevistas, videos, objetos, fotografías, palabras, dibujos o acciones que le sirven como objeto de deconstrucción, trasladando estas historias a su propio lenguaje visual. A través de la caligrafía y la encriptación de signos crea cartografías, cuestionamientos o representaciones en los que valora los enunciados contextuales y donde esos pensamientos se vuelven forma. 

En este mural titulado Eclipse, Said Dokins remite a la multiplicidad de definiciones posibles de una ciudad como Viena, pide a los transeúntes definir o contar una historia de su experiencia en el lugar utilizando una sola palabra. Cada palabra que las personas proporcionan, Dokins las integra en su intervención mural, creando una definición colectiva de Viena que incluye la multiplicidad de definiciones encriptadas en su personal estilo caligráfico. En esta obra Dokins muestra que no hay una sola visión de la ciudad ni del mundo, que no existe la unicidad de lo real, y es precisamente la agencia del arte lo que puede articular o armonizar la polifonía. 

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Calle Libre

Esta edición del Festival Calle Libre busca, a través de una serie de obras de arte en el espacio público, así como algunas dentro del Weltmuseum Wien, que los artistas locales e internacionales tengan la oportunidad de presentar nuevos mundos visuales y formas de interpretación de sus realidades socioculturales y las memorias colectivas de sus pueblos. En concreto, las obras de esta edición tienen como objetivo fomentar el diálogo honesto, superar los estereotipos moldeados por la historia del arte y acercarse a la deconstrucción del imaginario hegemónico.

Artistas participantes:

Ghizlane Agzenai (Marruecos), Halfstudio (Portugal), Ju Mu  (Alemania), Said Dokins (México), Alexander Isakov (Ucrania).

Calle Libre.

https://www.callelibre.at/2021

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