Kiseno
He/Him
Barcelona
“I describe myself as a jeweler, mechanic, cook, and photographer; my life has been a process of constant learning, and experimentation has been fundamental to my knowledge. Ansel Adams said that "photography is made with more than just the camera; it is also made with the books you have read, the movies you have seen, the trips you have taken, the music you have listened to, and the people you have loved," so I use these words to define how I do what I do.
I have conducted workshops in Colombia, Spain, Portugal, and Argentina, and have exhibited at: the National Museum of Colombia (*Fuerza, Fe y Sustancia: Misturas y tensiones de lo sagrado en Colombia* – a 10-year exhibition); Urban Glass Gallery (*QUEERPHORIA* Volumes 3, 4, and 5, New York, USA); MADRUGADA (2nd Lisbon Contemporary Jewellery Biennial, Portugal); REVOLUTION (SNAGmetalsmith, London 2023); SALÓN CRISOL (Bogotá Museum of Modern Art/MAMBO, Colombia); and JOYA BARCELONA (Spain, 2017). I also won first place at the ZLR Jewellery Awards (Munich, Germany, 2017) and have participated in other exhibitions in France, the Netherlands, Greece, Switzerland, Argentina, and Venezuela.”
“My work is the resource I use to raise my voice and bang on the table, demonstrating, here we are, the nobodies, ready to fight for our dignity. My means of expression is subversive jewelry, which is unwilling to follow the path of repetition and custom outlined for us by a capitalist, sexist, racist, homophobic, classist, clerical, and heteropatriarchal society that robs us of our dignity and the right to disobedience, going further, this power that commands us to fight the other, because they are our enemy and must be seen as a threat.”
@kisenoart
How does your work relate to the theme of restoration?
“Through this complaint, my goal is to raise awareness in how others look at us, prompting them to question how and why they refuse to accept those who are different, even when their behavior does not affect anyone else. For a long time, LGBTQ+ people have been stripped of the right to be ourselves and forced to lead double lives. That is exactly what my work questions.”
Kiseno
How does your creative practice allow you to restore (renew, return, reclaim, recover)?
“In September, I was in Buenos Aires conducting workshops and giving talks at jewelry schools and various universities. I spoke about my creative processes and how I make my pieces, but also about why my primary aim is to speak out against injustice. I discussed the "Ausencia" (Absence) necklace—a piece I update periodically because I will not stop working on it until the killings of social leaders in Colombia cease. Many people told me they hadn't known this was happening in Colombia; that is why speaking out is so important to me.”
As a queer+, artist, what do you see can be, needs to be, or cannot be restored?
“Honestly, I feel we are doing things right; we are people who have been fighting for our rights for a long time, and what we need to do is remain united and look out for each other's well-being.”
Photographs Courtesy of the Artist
Anything else you would like to share about this work? This can be an important part of the process, sourcing materials, or research.
“When I started building this piece, I thought I literally wanted it to look like a penis, but then I realized I didn't want that—I wanted it to resemble one without actually being one. When people see it, some think it looks like a cannon, and I like that; I like people seeing what they think they see, but the actual inscription—that is what is truly important to me.”