The artist was fascinated by certain images he had a connection with since childhood, transforming them into iconography, such as the image of a fisherman carrying a codfish of almost the same size on his back. This composition is complemented by the use of a dairy remedy, the traditional multivitamin "Scott's Emulsion." These iconic elements, which he grew up with in the 1990s, still exist and are a source of resonance, suggesting the artist thanks to the place where he conceived this series. "Insular Desire" is a reminiscence of his past. Sierra's current work continues to be based on his self-representation, from which he approaches a homoerotic perspective by configuring staged environments with objects in which he integrates himself as a "subject of aesthetic creation" in nude photography.
Deseo Insular IX, 2016. Nude photography
From the series Deseo Insular
Deseo Insular IX, 2016
Archival Pigment Print
Limited Edition
Unframed
Semi-Matte
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.”
