Lux, artists usually have a mission, a reason-why. What is yours?
I like to present a situation. I like to expose a fact. And then people, the audience, can get their own conclusion. People can reflect on something that sparks, while they are watching my performances.
Are you a character? You give the impression of a figure out of a Manga…
Exactly. My work is deeply influenced by gaming culture, especially the figure of the NPC, or Non-Playable Character. NPCs are background figures in video games, scripted to repeat fixed movements or dialogue. They’re not meant to be noticed, just to recreate reality for players. But I make them visible in physical life. I’m interested in how much of our physical-life behavior resembles these characters: automated, predictable, passive. We are all NPCs in someone’s life, the problem is if you are an NPC in your own.
You mean, not relevant?
Everybody is important in their own life, no one is important for the other people. Being an NPC is actually a refugee place. Like it’s okay that I have my life scripted, then nothing can go wrong, because I know every detail of my life, every aspect, I know exactly what happens next.
How did you become a performing artist?
I was born in Buenos Aires, then moved to Mar del Plata with my family. At 18, I went back to the capital to find more space for myself. I studied journalism, worked in communications and advertising, but always felt I was meant to be somewhere else. In 2018, I created my first character, a creepy influencer called Lola, and from there, I began experimenting with performance, costumes, and public interventions. That opened doors in Argentina and abroad. This year I was invited to do a three-month residency in Basel, supported by Pro Helvetia South America. That changed everything.
Did you come to Switzerland with a plan?
I arrived in Basel and started walking, listening, paying attention. I tuned myself to the rhythm of the city, its architecture, its institutions, its people. I visited the Kunstmuseum, did an intervention at ACT Performance Festival, and then things started unfolding: spontaneous performances around the city, invitations, conversations. Basel became the core of my research.
How do you proceed with a performance? Switzerland is not exactly the country which allows people, artist, to do whatever they like in public spaces…
I usually don’t ask for permission. I trust my intuition. I go out alone, with my tripod, and let the city guide me. The performances often happen unannounced, without an audience, but the camera is always there. Documentation is essential. The viewer sees a still body, often in uncomfortable or ambiguous poses. But for me, it’s a negotiation with space, architecture, and costume. I often wear sunglasses to have a ‘safe zone’ to focus into, a kind of visual anchor in the middle of the exposure.
When I’m invited to perform in institutional contexts, the methodology shifts, but the concept remains the same. For example, at Kunstforum Baloise Park, OMG Franck! during Art Basel, I first visited the buildings, explored its architectures, and chose the exact spots where I would position myself. I carefully selected the angles, the costume, and the images I wanted to produce. Once everything was prepared, I surrendered to the moment, to the audience’s presence, to the unexpected. That’s where my work really happens: in the tension between what I plan and what actually unfolds.
How do you choose your spots for your performance?
I’m really interested in placing my body in transitional spots, transitional spaces. You don’t really expect to see anything there. Maybe a cat, maybe trash, but not a person laying in that kind of position. That friction is where the performance begins. It turns invisibility into presence.
You received a three-month Artist-in-Residency Sponsorship from Pro Helvetia, which is over now. How do you proceed?
I have been creating all kinds of characters since 2018. I’m super motivated and I want to keep performing. Right now, after four months working constantly with my body, I’m kind of exhausted, also because I’m doing everything on my own, communications, administration. It’s hard for me, I don’t speak money, I speak art.
Now, after an intense period of creation, I’m allowing my body to rest. What I experienced in Basel marked a turning point, and I know this research needs continuity.
You must be super fit, you are using your body constantly. How do you stay strong? Two hours of yoga every morning?
I wish. The last weeks were crazy. You know why I look younger than my age? I do these things because I’m happy with what I do. I’m happy because I drink a lot of Prosecco and I’m in this beautiful country, meeting a lot of lovely people, visiting these amazing places. My mind and my heart are open, open, open. And I’m continuously inspired, almost to the brink of crying.
Can art solve the problems of our world?
I don’t think artists can solve the problems of the world in a dreamy, in a funny way. It’s a very romantic idea. Art is influencing people to look at things in a different way, to get a different point of view. Living in the digitized world, playing games, means to go to the fantasy world in order to get new perspectives for reality.
luxvalladolid.com
@luxvalladolid
Ask Lux directly via Instagram where to buy limited photo editions.
