Regina José Galindo
(Guatemalan, b. 1974)
Extensión/Extension, 2008
Human Hair
Gift of the Artist
Regina José Galindo lived through nearly two decades of the 36-year Guatemalan Civil War. The country’s history has been marred by oppressive dictatorial regimes, genocide of indigenous peoples, corruption, and more recently, a pervasive culture of violence in which heinous “everyday” crimes such as rape and murder are committed against women. In 2010, Galindo’s hometown of Guatemala City was ranked the third-most dangerous city in the world, with nearly 95 murders occurring every week.
While creating two pivotal works in her oeuvre, XX and Desalojo/Eviction, both initiated at La Verbena Cemetery in Guatemala City, Galindo collected hair from unidentified, unclaimed female murder victims and fashioned it into six hair extensions. During a live performance, one extension was sewn into Galindo’s hair while five women volunteers received the others. For more than 36 hours, these six women continued their daily lives while symbolically extending the lives of the unknown victims by wearing their hair—organic matter containing each deceased individual’s DNA.
Biography
Galindo is an internationally acclaimed visual artist and poet specializing in performance art. Her work has been widely exhibited internationally in solo and group exhibitions, including Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy; Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College; the 49th, 51st, 53rd, and 54th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy; the Moscow Biennial, Moscow, Russia; I Art and Architecture Biennial, Canary Islands, Spain; and at the Tate Modern, London, U.K. Galindo is the recipient of many prestigious awards and honors, including the Golden Lion from the 51st Venice Biennale, the Prince Claus Award from The Netherlands, and the Grand Prize at the 29th Biennial of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, Slovenia. She has participated in several international residency programs including at the Chateau Trebesice, Prague, Czech Republic; Le Plateau, Paris, France; and Artpace, San Antonio, TX. Her work is part of major collections including Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Jose, Costa Rica; and Cisneros Fontanals Collection, Miami, FL. Galindo is represented by Prometeogallery di Ida Pisani, Italy.