This photograph transforms contorted human legs into living pedestal supporting domestic hen, creating absurdist sculpture that merges animal, human, and mineral elements. The body bent backward forms architectural base—headless torso reduced to structural function—while stone fragment beneath adds literal pedestal layer. The hen atop this flesh monument surveys surroundings with casual indifference, creating surreal juxtaposition between animal autonomy and human subjugation. Sierra's neutral backdrop and side lighting emphasize sculptural qualities, treating the assemblage as museum artifact. The work continues his practice of "abject staged environments," here presenting body not as subject but as altar or display surface for the mundane sacred—a common barnyard bird elevated through corporeal sacrifice.
Jose Sierra work is deeply influenced by themes of self-representation and a homoerotic gaze. Through his unique aesthetic, he creates abject staged environments that challenge traditional norms. His art often merges personal identity with broader cultural commentary, as seen in his notable works like "Anti-Personnel Grids" and "Self-Portrait." Sierra's pieces are a bold fusion of urban art and intimate self-exploration, reflecting his dynamic engagement with contemporary culture.
Animal human interaction photography corporeal sculpture transforming human form into altar for the mundane sacred. Archival pigment print from El Envuelto Divino. Available at The Art Design Project, Miami Beach.
Animal Human Interaction Photography - #17 from El Envuelto Divino, 2021
#17, 2021
From "El Envuelto Divino" Series
Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemühle paper
Limited Edition.
Unframed
Jose Sierra (b. 1991 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia) obtained his Master in Fine Arts from the University Institute of Fine Arts and Science of Bolivar (UNIBAC) in 2012 with a body of work titled Anti-Personnel Grids, which has since exhibited in different locales of Colombia. Shortly after, he was commissioned by the Colombian Ministry of Culture alongside the artist collective Si Nos Pagan Boys to participate in an urban art exposition titled, La Muerte Se Va de Vacaciones (Death is Going on Vacation) that was executed as a reaction to the traditionalism of Cartagena. In 2014, he exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Cartagena and in La Presentacion Casa Museo Arte y Cultura. He then exhibited in the Cultural Center Ciudad Movil in 2016 with a body of work created in collaboration with the Colombian photographer, Camo. In the same year, he was nominated for the International Luxembourg Art Prize for his recent work Self-Portrait. Sierra’s ongoing body of work continues to be based around his self-representation from which he addresses a homoerotic gaze through the configuration of abject staged environments that he merges himself within as “a subject of aesthetic creation.”
