Naufús Ramírez-Figueroa
Vancouver, British Columbia / Guatemala
A Mari Usque Ad Mare / From Sea to Sea
Performance Summary:
Canada, bracketed by two oceans… The maple leaf bracketed by two blood red stripes… Our national motto: From Sea to Sea… The Queen in England; the Queen with her blood red crown; her face and breasts as pale as a Canadian winter.
Biography:
Naufús Ramírez-Figueroa (Guatemala City, 1978) is an interdisciplinary artist, working in video, installation, and performance. His work and research delves into folkloricism, sexuality, magical practices, the welfare of children in war, the experiences of refugees, and poetry. He obtained a BFA from Emily Carr Institute in 2005 and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2007. He has had various solo exhibitions, including Children’s Tears Laid Out To Dry (grunt gallery, 2007), Para Ti El Banano Madura Al Peso De Tu Dulce Amor (Espacio ::.: ..: ::.: : .:, 2008), and The Great White Fleet (Gallery Gachet, 2003). His work has also been included in a number of group exhibitions, including AA Bronson’s School for Young Shamans (John Connelly Presents, NYC 2008), Home Works IV (Masrah Al Madina, Lebanon 2008), Sex Work: The Museum as Brothel, Art House as Porn House (Internationale Kurzfilmtage, Oberhausen 2007), and Video Centro-Americano (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana 2005). He has performed at FADO Centre for Performance Art (Toronto), South Side Community Art Centre (Chicago), Tribe Arts (Saskatoon), The Vancouver Art Gallery (Vancouver), and the Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporaneo (San Jose, Costa Rica), among other places. He is a recipient of various awards including the 2007 Franklin Furnace Performance Art Fund.
He lives in Flores, Guatemala and Vancouver, Canada.
Artist Statement:
I have never seen the Queen in person but I have felt her stir under the bed covers… I’ve been to Buckingham and waited patiently outside its gates. I was a faithful subject. My blood red: like her royal red: like her red painted lips: like the maple left… I waited outside Buckingham but she never came out, never invited me for tea, never made me feel hers… England likes to eat, eat countries. Its eaten two male members of my family… The Queen has white milk in her breast, she is the mother to all Canadians… She has a comforting smile… One day, I’ll be happy when I can kiss her wrinkly hand.
Website:
Performance Date / Time / Location
Thursday September 17th / 5 pm / Latitude 53 & surrounding area