Camilo Godoy: T茅rminos Indignos
Proxyco is pleased to present a solo exhibition of work by Camilo Godoy, a multidisciplinary artist born in Bogot谩, Colombia and based in New York, NY. Titled T茅rminos Indignos, the exhibition will inaugurate PROXYCO鈥檚 new home at 88 Eldridge Street. The exhibition will run from February 27 鈥� April 23 and the gallery will host an opening reception on February 27 from 6 鈥� 8 pm. Encompassing new works as well as a performance that the artist originally developed over a decade ago, the exhibition will showcase the range of Godoy鈥檚 multidisciplinary practice that deftly and potently engages in politics, history, activism, identity, and memory.
Among the new works will be a video installation of Godoy鈥檚 performance Amor Eficaz, first performed live on May 15, 2024 at Americas Society in New York as part of the institution鈥檚 performance series and the special exhibition El Dorado: Myths of Gold Part II. In advance of the exhibition at PROXYCO, the artist reperformed an excerpt of the piece and recorded it for posterity and future presentation. In Amor Eficaz, Godoy integrates speech, dance, and music to invoke the activism of the Colombian priest Father Camilo Torres Restrepo (1929鈥�1966). Using language from Torres Restrepo鈥檚 last speech made before he joined the revolutionary armed struggle and incorporating dance, Godoy鈥檚 performance addresses 鈥痶he colonial legacy of injustice, trauma, and subversive politics.
A second performance work will be activated by gallery visitors throughout the run of the exhibition. Originally conceived in 2012, the work is titled Invidious Distinctions and was inspired by the artist鈥檚 experience volunteering for the immigrant organizations First Friends and Sojourners by visiting people held in immigration detention centers in New Jersey. Regularly on Saturdays for over two years, Godoy would travel with other volunteers to detention centers to visit and speak with strangers detained and awaiting to be deported. Before entering the visiting room, visitors鈥� wrists were stamped with invisible ink by a security guard; and before exiting the room, each visitor鈥檚 wrist was checked under a UV light to ensure the person in detention remained in holding. Upon entering Godoy鈥檚 exhibition at PROXYCO, visitors鈥� wrists will similarly be stamped, with terms only revealed when their wrists are held underneath the UV light installed in the gallery.
In 2012 Godoy converted a friend鈥檚 deportation order into an etched mirror. For this exhibition the artist revisits this technique to create a new large scale project titled Espejos. In these works, Godoy grapples with the history of the diplomatic relationship between Colombia and the United States by appropriating items found in archives of political cartoons and declassified CIA documents. When confronting these works, visitors鈥� own faces and bodies will reflect, forcing a visualization of oneself as a witness of these histories of empire and surveillance.
Such confrontation plays a fundamental role in Godoy鈥檚 practice. In conceiving of his exhibition, the artist has reflected upon James Baldwin鈥檚 1963 speech 鈥淭he Artist鈥檚 Struggle for Integrity鈥�, in which the writer and activist asserts: 鈥淚t is time to ask very hard questions and to take very rude positions. And no matter at what price.鈥� T茅rminos Indignos represents one artist鈥檚 response to that call 鈥� a presentation of art that forces us to contend with the state of human dignity and compassion in the struggles of our moment.
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Proxyco is pleased to present a solo exhibition of work by Camilo Godoy, a multidisciplinary artist born in Bogot谩, Colombia and based in New York, NY. Titled T茅rminos Indignos, the exhibition will inaugurate PROXYCO鈥檚 new home at 88 Eldridge Street. The exhibition will run from February 27 鈥� April 23 and the gallery will host an opening reception on February 27 from 6 鈥� 8 pm. Encompassing new works as well as a performance that the artist originally developed over a decade ago, the exhibition will showcase the range of Godoy鈥檚 multidisciplinary practice that deftly and potently engages in politics, history, activism, identity, and memory.
Among the new works will be a video installation of Godoy鈥檚 performance Amor Eficaz, first performed live on May 15, 2024 at Americas Society in New York as part of the institution鈥檚 performance series and the special exhibition El Dorado: Myths of Gold Part II. In advance of the exhibition at PROXYCO, the artist reperformed an excerpt of the piece and recorded it for posterity and future presentation. In Amor Eficaz, Godoy integrates speech, dance, and music to invoke the activism of the Colombian priest Father Camilo Torres Restrepo (1929鈥�1966). Using language from Torres Restrepo鈥檚 last speech made before he joined the revolutionary armed struggle and incorporating dance, Godoy鈥檚 performance addresses 鈥痶he colonial legacy of injustice, trauma, and subversive politics.
A second performance work will be activated by gallery visitors throughout the run of the exhibition. Originally conceived in 2012, the work is titled Invidious Distinctions and was inspired by the artist鈥檚 experience volunteering for the immigrant organizations First Friends and Sojourners by visiting people held in immigration detention centers in New Jersey. Regularly on Saturdays for over two years, Godoy would travel with other volunteers to detention centers to visit and speak with strangers detained and awaiting to be deported. Before entering the visiting room, visitors鈥� wrists were stamped with invisible ink by a security guard; and before exiting the room, each visitor鈥檚 wrist was checked under a UV light to ensure the person in detention remained in holding. Upon entering Godoy鈥檚 exhibition at PROXYCO, visitors鈥� wrists will similarly be stamped, with terms only revealed when their wrists are held underneath the UV light installed in the gallery.
In 2012 Godoy converted a friend鈥檚 deportation order into an etched mirror. For this exhibition the artist revisits this technique to create a new large scale project titled Espejos. In these works, Godoy grapples with the history of the diplomatic relationship between Colombia and the United States by appropriating items found in archives of political cartoons and declassified CIA documents. When confronting these works, visitors鈥� own faces and bodies will reflect, forcing a visualization of oneself as a witness of these histories of empire and surveillance.
Such confrontation plays a fundamental role in Godoy鈥檚 practice. In conceiving of his exhibition, the artist has reflected upon James Baldwin鈥檚 1963 speech 鈥淭he Artist鈥檚 Struggle for Integrity鈥�, in which the writer and activist asserts: 鈥淚t is time to ask very hard questions and to take very rude positions. And no matter at what price.鈥� T茅rminos Indignos represents one artist鈥檚 response to that call 鈥� a presentation of art that forces us to contend with the state of human dignity and compassion in the struggles of our moment.
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