See here for Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall's review of the exhibition
Javier Barrios is a Guatemalan-Norwegian artist whose multidisciplinary practice explores themes of human-nature dynamics, cultural hybridity, and the interplay between beauty and violence. His work spans drawing, sculpture, and installation, often merging historical narratives with speculative futures.
Key Themes and Inspirations
1. Human-Nature Relationships
Barrios critiques humanity’s attempts to control nature, framing it as a fraught political act. His sculptures and drawings depict anthropomorphic plants and chaotic ecosystems, symbolizing the tension between exploitation and reverence for the natural world. For example, his Wardian case-inspired sculptures (19th-century plant transport devices) feature skeletal figures entangled with flowers, alluding to colonial resource extraction59.
2. Cultural Hybridity
Drawing from pre-Hispanic Mexican imagery, Buddhist hell scrolls, and Japanese Ukiyo-é art, Barrios creates visual hybrids that defy singular cultural identities. His watercolors blend Orozco-esque murals with mythological creatures, reflecting on Mexico’s colonial past and globalized present459.
3. Beauty and Violence
Barrios’s work juxtaposes delicate botanical forms with grotesque, toothy faces or skeletal motifs. This duality references sacrificial obsidian knives (tecpatl) from Aztec rituals, where violence and fertility were intertwined49.
Artistic Practice
Mediums: Primarily works with manila paper, watercolors, and Japanese paper sculptures. His use of manila paper stems from childhood experiences, where it symbolized creative freedom9.
Technique: Combines meticulous detail (reminiscent of botanical illustrations) with loose, expressive lines. His work often incorporates research into colonial botany and syncretic religious practices48.
Notable Works and Exhibitions
Offerings to the Nocturnal Hours (2023, Brussels):
A solo exhibition featuring sculptures and watercolors that reimagined hellscapes as fecund gardens. The show critiqued ecological destruction through symbolic hybrids of flora and skeletal figures59.Casa de Sombras (2022, Mexico City):
Explored domestic spaces as sites of cultural memory, using lightbox installations to transform drawings into immersive environments68.XV FEMSA Biennial (2024, Guanajuato):
Participated in a group exhibition addressing hybrid bodies and transformations, aligning with his interest in fluid identities712.
Recognition and Residencies
Barrios has held residencies at ISCP (New York)16, Casa Wabi (Oaxaca)68, and Casa NANO (Tokyo)8. His work is housed in collections like the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection (NYC) and Fundación M (Mexico City)68.
on, Barrios positions art as a tool to interrogate humanity’s past and imagine its future.
