Jorge Méndez Blake
PROJECT
The letters on these concrete benches spell out the Spanish phrase poeta bailando rap (a poet dancing to rap). The work belongs to the series Poets in Action, which was partly prompted by recent global shifts such as the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly impacted our perspectives on life and the role of art in our daily activities. Jorge Méndez Blake imagines the poet not as a distant figure of extraordinary creativity, but as someone engaged in everyday life: routine, banal or potentially awkward activities, such as dancing to rap. In juxtaposing ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture, the artist asks: Would such everyday activities be perceived as ‘poetic’ if they were performed by a poet?
The acquisition of this artist’s work is supported by Robin Campbell AM, David Parncutt and Paul Andrews
ABOUT
The work of Guadalajara-based artist Jorge Méndez Blake concerns books, libraries and literature. An architect by profession, Méndez Blake works across media to translate literary texts into images, sculptures and installations referring to masters of literature such as William Shakespeare, Jules Verne, Franz Kafka and Jorge Luis Borges. Méndez Blake has been the subject of many solo exhibitions including, most recently, at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey, Mexico in 2024. He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions, including in projects staged at Ballroom Marfa, Texas (US) and Centro Botín (Spain). Méndez Blake has received a number of high-profile awards, and his work is in several international collections including Pérez Collection, Miami (US); Deutsche Bank Collection (Germany); Queensland Art Gallery (Australia); Philara Collection, Düsseldorf (Germany); and, in his home country of Mexico, Museo Jumex, Colección del Pueblo de Jalisco, and Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo.