agustín ortiz herrera

Nature is above all and predominantly queer. Maja Bondestam (2016) describes how Linnaeus (1735) had no choice but to include the notions of gender fluidity, bisexual behaviour or hermafroditism in his taxonomical influential publications. From an historical point of view focusing on that evidence could have been a revolutionary act, but the morality of the Enlightenment patriarchal-colonial project structured the binary thinking that predominates in western science. Since then we live in a tecno-scientific oriented, racist, classist, sexist society at the crossroads of a serious environmental crisis.

Agustín’s recent work investigate intersections that problematize the binary idea that western science and history has over biological life. Lately he have started an artistic project collaborating with a scientific team that studies the planarians, some fascinating aquatic worms that clone themselves by fission. Their bodies are constituted by stem cells capable of regenerating each and every one of its parts and functions. If a planarian gets splited in 3, every part will regenerate in a new individual. Some planarians are asexual, some other seek to mate, but all are hermafrodites. Indeed an extraordinarily queer being.

Ortiz Herrera’s artistic practice is developed in the fields of film, performance and installation. He uses these media to activate the queer perspective in the patriarchal-colonialist context of scientific and historical disciplines. He studied Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona, and filmmaking at The New School University in New York. After a period working as a screenwriter, he returned to artistic practice by completing the Master of Fine Arts at the Konstfack College of Arts in Stockholm. His latest film Gnosis iluminada was selected as part of the program Not Yet Yes curated by Simon*e van Saarloos at the IDFA 2022. His recent exhibitions and collaborations include, The tradition that runs through us, Center d'Art Santa Mónica, 2022, An accidental message on violence, Festival PLECS-Cultura Rizoma, 2022, Future Forest Diorama, La Escocesa CREAF, artistic research project, 2022, Science Friction, The Symbiont Circle, CCCB, 2021, Another Times, The Green Parrot, 2021, Vanitas, Center d'Art Maristany, 2021, Queer Committee, Barcelona Loop Festival, 2021, Disorder Fictions, Hangar Public Program, 20/21, A colonial history of the cabinet-garden, GRAF Routes, 2021, To name. To possess. Critique of taxonomic practice, Artistic research project selected by La Capella/Barcelona Producció, 19/20, Artificialia: WunderChapel, Barcelona Loop Festival, 2020, Artificialia is Coming!, Polivalentes, Hangar 2020, Oblivion, KROPP, Uppsala Konsert & Kongress , 2019, Words of vision, Österbybruk, Sweden, 2018, Agustín received the Barcelona Production La Capella 2019/20 grant in the artistic research category, the OSIC artistic research grant, 2020 and 2022, and the Escocesa Ecotons artistic research scholarship in collaboration with CREAF, 2021/22. In 2021 his work Fungi Fantasy and their friends Crazy Bacteria was acquired by the MACBA collection.