Mecánica de la Desidia
2013
Book, 21 x 14.8 cm, 174 p, language: Spanish, self-published, ISBN: 978-84-616-5317-1.
Materials: ink, paper
Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp (Inv. no. B 2026/264).
Literary synopsis
Any of the topics in Mecánica de la Desidia is likely to become the protagonist: a hole in the garden, a keeper of the useless things, a Rumanian girl, a nameless waitress, a flower patterned quilt, a painting of Jesus Christ with an erect penis, a nonexistent child, a blue cat, an asymmetric painter... The novel is a kind of literary puzzle fragmented into short chapters that alternate the use of dialogues with an omniscient narrator. Little fragments that the reader should reconstruct. The author manipulates the idea of isolated, vulnerable and helpless man that regenerates himself through the objects around him. Through symbolism, black humor and reinterpretation of magic realism, Mecánica de la Desidia reflects on the degradation of the mass media and the world of contemporary art.
Relation of the novel to the artist’s practice
There are two artworks related to Mecánica de la Desidia. The first one is a video that is also a presentation of the novel, and the second one is the performance Alrededor, in which the artist writes during nine hours parts of an unfinished novel (Mecánica de la Desidia). The adverb "Alrededor" ("Around") refers to the physical space (the walls of Marla Jacarilla's studio, lined completely with brown paper), and also to the mental space (all the things that she can think about during the whole time of the performance, everything that could happen to the characters of the novel that she is writing, and so on).
Authorship: Artist Author.
Creative Strategy: Artworks Cite Novel, Fictional Artist Creates Artworks.
Genre: Künstlerroman, Tragic Farce.
Publishing: Self-Publishing.
Theme: Art, Art World, Childhood, Death, Everyday Life, Ghosts, Identity.
