After a bit of courtship, Marcelo and I found ourselves with bags full of potential and a rapidly evolving concept behind his word for this installation of Konversation- ‘Easy.’ A multi-media performance and installation artist, Marcelo appeals to our senses in how he utilizes his body as a medium for exploring and reframing pop identity, branding, and consumption. For this project, we chose to explore transparency of spirit and reconfiguring the site of the body in disquieting, yet serene, ways.

After a day of editing, we passed the work of digital installation off to Tonia, hopped on gchat to get reacquainted with each other and discuss some of the elements of ‘Easy.’

Marcelo: This piece for me marks my hunger for purity at the moment. Lately, my works have been so hyper. I’ve been so hyper, but this piece presents a breath and a kind of sensitivity/honesty I don’t think I’ve shown before. It’s growth. It’s awareness.

Hawa: How do the themes of sensitivity and honesty relate to the body in this piece?
M: Well i think there’s an invitation for intimacy, humanity. This carries silence and silence is honest.

H: There’s also a tension in that intimacy- of like what exactly am I looking at..
M:  Yes there’s tension, there’s a duality in performance and candidness.

H:  Can you talk a bit more about that?
M: Well, my work is about defining a world for yourself to live in. A space where you can inhabit everyone and everything you want to be. With that comes a kind of dream, a romanticized performance – but from a place of deep honesty and experience. It’s honest escapism.

H: Do you feel like your upbringing/background informs your work in that sense?
M: Absolutely. I was born into a Colombian family but raised with an Italian flare. With that, culturally, comes a passion, a fire, a romance, a sense of fantasy and aspiration. I became an immigrant of the United States at an early age and still long for an American Dream. It sounds wonderful.

H: Do you remember leaving Colombia? Remember anything? smells/sights/sounds?

H: Do you have a proud moment for yourself as an artist?
M:  When I was voted best artist as a senior in high school because I had no idea that was even happening. I finally felt appreciated by classmates. It was totally surprising and so sweet. I never had many friends, or even a best friend by that time. But that solo time was crucial and I hold it so sacredly.

H:  Was it an incubating period?
M:  Totally, torturous and magical.

Currently, Marcelo is releasing singles off his project PINK: A Debut Album. Though he’s proclaimed he wants the American Dream, what exactly that is for this young artist is unknown, “that’s very personal my dear 😉 I’ll let you know if it goes well haha.” With the Pope’s blessing, we hope to know the story is unfolding well in the near future. Enter the exhibit here.

See more of Marcelo’s work.
Special thanks to Babeland Gallery for location.