* In The Colic

Featuring Lle Godoy Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski

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With this feature, we celebrate and present the first solo exhibition, * In The Colic, by Lle Godoy, launched on the 17th of December and available at the Aldama Fabre Gallery, Bilbao. The exhibition centers around the personal research of the topic of palate expansion technique and the attempt to deconstruct it by examining the process. Mouth and the possibility to affect its structure is explored and displayed as a process of rebuilding the outwards appearance, somewhat impacting the identity of the person involved.

The deconstruction of the technique leads to a rethought portrayal of the elements that might have been used, exploring the material, the color, the shape, while also attempting to awaken the senses striving to use the created objects.

Lle Godoy, Mikel Cenecorta Godoy, is a visual artist, art director, and photographer who worked this year on projects as video clips Las Montañas and Ojos de Serpiente, virtual show MBMFW 20, film and fashion campaign for JCPAJARES, and the list goes on. We speak with Lle Godoy about his hometown Bilbao, future themes he prepares to explore, and the upcoming projects as well as the solo exhibition * In The Colic. Mikel explains the passion and his drive behind developing the concept for the exhibition, “What do you do with colic? Own it, in all its interpretations! Precisely the paradox itself and almost the delusion of this project made me more aware of my own limitations and made me want to escape.”

‘I do think that my character is very conditioned by the context and my language, but not by my imaginary or visual language. I feel like they hardly have anything to do with it.’

I Am

How do you think being born and growing up in Bilbao, learning to speak Spanish, being exposed to the beauty of nature in the area might have influenced you on a personal level and the development of your aesthetics as an artist? 

I do think that my character is very conditioned by the context and my language, but not by my imaginary or visual language. I feel like they hardly have anything to do with it. But I also think that I might not have enough perspective on this matter. Nature is surely an essential conditioning factor in the work of every artist, directly and indirectly. I don’t feel like I’m escaping that fact, but maybe I am still unaware of it.

‘David Bowie, Louise Bourgeois, Peggy Guggenheim, Pedro Almodóvar... recently Angelica Liddell and so many others). They light my way in so many ways, but above all, it always has been their failures that have given me the boost that I needed when I didn’t have the strength to continue.’

Creation

Who, in your opinion, was the main figure influencing the becoming of you as you are today with your values, goals, and passions?

It is a mix of references, influences, and, above all, aspirational highs. I have always been looking for new referents. Some of them are intermittent while others are always present (such as David Bowie, Louise Bourgeois, Peggy Guggenheim, Pedro Almodóvar... recently Angelica Liddell and so many others). They light my way in so many ways, but above all, it always has been their failures that have given me the boost that I needed when I didn’t have the strength to continue.

‘It was precisely getting out of the great emotional colic, in which I found myself that served as a launchpad for the project. I guess I made palate expanders for mouths that don’t exist, for the problems that don’t exist, to inadvertently partly fix myself.’

In the Colic

Let’s discuss the preparations for your first individual exhibition, In the Colic. You’ve been working on the subject for the past year. What was the need or the undeniable drive bringing you to the decision to make this exhibition? 

It was precisely getting out of the great emotional colic, in which I found myself that served as a launchpad for the project. I guess I made palate expanders for mouths that don’t exist, for the problems that don’t exist, to inadvertently partly fix myself. 

What do you do with colic? Own it, in all its interpretations! Precisely the paradox itself and almost the delusion of this project made me more aware of my own limitations and made me want to escape. So, in the end, I wanted to make a 'presentation letter' out of all this.

‘Mouths are everywhere, and for me, they are not a metaphor of speech but are an absolute statement of beauty, a canon to review, constantly.’

The mouth, the topic of the exhibition, can be perceived in different ways also as a metaphor for speech, communication, being part of the whole, representation of beauty, etc. You bring to the attention the palate expansion technique, a dental intervention to change the structure of the mouth, to create a new reality. How is this concept discussed and presented in the body of work you show in the exhibition?  

It is rather an opportunity to intervene. Palate expanders absolutely configure our oral architecture, and from there I can, precisely, intervene. These are the negatives of those mouths - the other part of the puzzle. Mouths are everywhere, and for me, they are not a metaphor of speech but are an absolute statement of beauty, a canon to review, constantly.

What have you learned or discovered through the research of the self, the topic, and the creative experience of working on In the Colic?

This is the first time that I have prepared a solo show, and the first thing that I’ve been aware of have been my own limitations. The processes are complicated, the timing, and also the fact that I am not a dentist. I am simply assembling my own language through these artifacts. I was looking for a less figurative narrative one, which is more spatial. This is also the first time that someone has written a curatorial text about my work, and I have been fortunate that it has been such an important and special artist as Javier Perez. It is a gift to have his words in addition to having Aldama Fabre Gallery, which has taken care of me through this process.

Visual Art

Being a self-trained visual artist, working in the industry with others in teams on projects, what have you learned from the mutual work? 

It is precisely teamwork projects or art made by collectives that make me feel best. That is what cinema is: a collective art. I would just tell them to make themselves respected: you don’t have to be rude, but it is important to own your place (known in the project), so you can be respectful to others and yourself. But above all, to enforce your vision and thus continue. Your vision is your main focus.

Themes

What themes you haven’t had a chance to work on as an art director or photographer which are of high interest or value to you?   

Science fiction, historical realism... Those are two topics that I have never worked on from the perspective of an aesthetics of the image, and I don’t know if I would be able to do it, but I would love to venture with it. I find a comfort zone in everything purely stylistic. Also, I'd love to continue to be connected to some kind of visual poetry, more conceptual, and less obvious. Those are certainly a challenge for me.

Upcoming Projects

What are your plans for this year? What are you working on right now?

Directing. I’m very eager to direct. I have two projects in mind: a piece of video art titled La Texturización del Deliro and another one called Encajada. The first one is a video essay about delirium and its many developments, with a more expository and intimate projection. I will soon start pre-producing it. Encajada, on the other hand, is a short film about an old lady getting herself a diode laser. I don’t want to say much more about it: both projects are still mutating. But of course, after *In The Colic, they are my main focus and illusion.