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 DANIEL
MARTIN DIAZ
Daniel Martin Diaz is a Mexican artist producing powerful
images, seemingly snatched from the underside of early Judeo-Christian
mythology.
"One of my earliest memories as a child was the way death and religion
played an important role in my family's life".
The images he produces are heavily influenced by the Catholicism inherent
in Mexican culture, yet they take as their starting point the darker side
of the religion. Also playing an influential role is humanity's apparent
obsession with the afterlife, almost as means of explanation for the suffering
our great race has known and endured over the years, often at the hands
of our brothers.
The otherworldly figures are often contorted and twisted, often-mutilated
into startlingly beautiful tableaux that play with archetypal images and
symbols. Using Latin texts and alchemical symbology to aid their unnerving
journey into the sub-consciousness of the viewer and with a Byzantine
slant to them, the sorrow and the longing found lurking when the surface
of religion is scratched and laid bare for us to see.
The spiritual figures displayed here, however, do not patronise us with
their compassion and forgiveness. Rather they appear mournful towards
the life of mortal man and at best attempt to offer sympathy as those
who understand the feelings of despair they too endure.
"I do not claim to understand these questions. I just paint and let
them reveal themselves to me".
Diaz also creates music with the band Blind Divine, a darkly ambient
musical outfit, whose web page contains many mp3s and video files created
by the band.
MARC BLACKIE - 24 October 2002
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