M HKA Ensembles

Video, 00:07:50.

Collection: Studio Luc Tuymans.

Javier Téllez (b. 1969) thematises the political-economic decline of his native country Venezuela in a video installation that takes the Lion of Caracas – the symbol of the capital – as its central theme. His documentary approach is characterised by great theatricality, which is used to portray in an unspoken manner the social consequences of the political corruption and persistent class struggle that plague the country. Actual war zones left aside, Caracas is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, yet Téllez does not show any direct violence in his film. On the contrary, he zooms in on the blind adoration that arises when the lion is brought in as a national hero. It is an impetuous and at the same time absurd scene. The stuffed fake lion is carried along dizzying stairs through a slum, flanked by four armed agents in uniform. The Lion seems to function as a processional saint here, although it may just as well be the body of a ranchito that is carried away under police escort. When the bystanders, especially children, try to touch the immobile animal, the agents awkwardly recoil, as a sign of armed impotence. Without sound or dialogue, the viewer is presented with the duality of political decay, which is portrayed in a quasi-epic manner. The fake lion and the fake agents suggest the setting of a heroic event, of something that could be timeless and monumental, but obviously no longer is.

Music: José Angel Lamas, Popule Meus, 1801

Text: Hans Willemse, 2018
Translations: Michael Meert