Tomás Orrego
Violence, Sex, and Humour
“I’m very aware that what I do and my sense of humor is not for everyone and that’s ok. But there is something about getting a reaction that intrigues me. I love taking the piss at art snobs and intellectuals, I just can’t stand people who take themselves too seriously.”
-Tomás Orrego
Tomás Orrego (Lima, 1991) is a visual and sound artist with studies in architecture. His work encompasses digital animation, video editing, installation, collage and sound design.
His first animated short film Las Manos Que Ríen (2018) received Best Direction and Outstanding Artistic Merit from Insólito Festival de Cine de Terror y Fantasía as well as first place in the Made in Peru section at Festival al Este de Lima. His last video work, titled Justine, was screened as part of Festival Internacional de Arte & Cine Queer in Bogota, Colombia.
Apart from this, he has made various commissioned video work such as videoclips for local bands like Liquidarlo Celuloide, Artaud, Autobús and Server, as well as live visuals for DJ sets.
As an artist, his work has been featured in various group exhibitions such as Verbo 15a mostra de performance arte from Galeria Vermelho in Sao Paulo, Brasil, #2: Generación Y from Y Gallery Lima, V1RU2_01 in Cubil, Ensayo/error from Sótano 1 and Unfinished Hase in Alte Handelsschule in Leipzig, Germany. In 2019 he inaugurated his second solo show entitled, Justine in Fundación Euroidiomas and took part in 2 international residencies: Pilotenkueche in Leipzig, Germany and Conspiradores del Placer in Lugar a Dudas, Cali, Colombia.
Together with artist Genietta Varsi, he founded the cultural platform SERES, which seeks to exhibit the work of young and emerging artists though exhibitions and various types of events, often experimenting with the exhibition format.
He currently lives in Lima where he tries to maintain a healthy exercise routine.
Tomás was featured two years ago in our 2019 Spring Edition while he was doing his residency at the Pilotenkueche International Art Program in Leipzig, Germany. We were captivated by the bizarreness of his work , the thought process, intention, and the inspiration of his creation.
Two years isn’t a long time, but it is if you’re in the middle of a pandemic, so we’ve checked up on the artist and see how he’s doing…
How has your art grown from the last time we had you featured?
“If I’m not mistaken the last time I was featured I was just getting very serious about working with video and the moving image in general. Two years have passed and I can safely say that now I’ve fully immersed myself in the world of audiovisual work and have been able to make a living out of it. I’ve been filming, editing and doing sound design for another artist’s project, designing visuals for virtual DJ sets (thanks COVID), doing quite a few commissioned videoclips for local bands and carrying on work on a feature film. Digital animation has become a large part of what I do now, which is exciting.
I’ve also recently started doing collage work again, something I did long before I started doing video. It has been very liberating to do things with my hands again, away from the coldness of a computer.“
Do you ever consider your work to be 'controversial'?
Sure. When your work has themes of violence and sex it is definitely going to be controversial and I usually take them to further extremes which makes it worse. I usually get into arguments with myself about this. I think that some of the things I do make me look like an immature brat that likes to shock people for the sake of it. Which is partially true to be honest. I’m very conscious that what I do is heavily influenced by the things I watched growing up. Absurd cartoon shows, videoclips,
old-school MTV in general, violent videogames, etc., are the things on which I cut my teeth and my work reflects that so my way of making things is through this filter. It’s the language I speak and I don’t know any other. Its part of my personality as well.
However, I must say that there is more to it than just shock value. But that really depends on each person’s view. I just have fun.
Has anyone ever been offended by your work?
Yeah definitely, but not as many people as one would think. The only time I recall someone being really offended was in a solo show I did a few years ago. I wasn’t there when it happened but someone told me that a woman working in the building where the exhibition took place (I think she was part of the administration staff of something) was shocked by the content of one of the videos installed. The piece was called Metal Dan and it contained a narration of a text I took from Urban Dictionary which described a very violent and extreme sex act involving older men, children and razor blades. It was something so ridiculous, disgusting and unreal that it caught my attention and I decided to use it. It was a very interesting piece because it was just a narration, gore without the gore, and it made people uncomfortable.
I was told the woman said something like: ‘this is wrong, this shouldn’t be here, what is wrong with this person?’. I’m not going to lie if I say I didn’t enjoy this reaction. However, I’m very aware that what I do and my sense of humor is not for everyone and that’s ok. But there is something about getting a reaction that intrigues me. I love taking the piss at art snobs and intellectuals, I just can’t stand people who take themselves too seriously.
To know more about the artist view or contact:
Email: orregotmasog@gmail.com
Instagram: @fantomaselengendro
Vimeo: vimeo
For your next Artist-in-Residency :
Franz-Flemming-Str. 9
2nd floor
D-04179 Leipzig
Germany
Email:
info@pilotenkueche.net
program.coordination@pilotenkueche.net