Pia Camil in collaboration with Erin Lewis
Through her work Pia Camil has shown a proclivity to failure or the decaying associated to the mexican urban landscape, aspects of modernist culture, and traces of art history. Her practice has explored the urban ruin, including paintings and photographs of halted projects along Mexico’s highways (highway follies); abandoned billboards that become theatre-like curtains therefore theatricalizing failed capitalist strategies (espectaculares), or the problems and contradictions that arise when engaging with iconic art works (No A trio A or Cuadrado Negro). In 2009, Camil formed a performance-based band with Esteban and Anajosé Aldrete. Creating outfits and scenery for El Resplandor’s site specific performances, the artist evokes a ritualistic cathartic atmosphere for the band’s loud, trance-induced music.
Camil has had solo exhibitions at CAC in Cincinnati and Blum and Poe in Los Angeles. Her work has also been included in group exhibitions at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Saatchi Gallery, and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, among other institutions.
Erin Lewis is a British fashion designer based in Mexico City. In her work she shows commitment to working to sustain traditional textile techniques, to sustain and improve the working lives of artisans and to sustain …
Through her work Pia Camil has shown a proclivity to failure or the decaying associated to the mexican urban landscape, aspects of modernist culture, and traces of art history. Her practice has explored the urban ruin, including paintings and photographs of halted projects along Mexico’s highways (highway follies); abandoned billboards that become theatre-like curtains therefore theatricalizing failed capitalist strategies (espectaculares), or the problems and contradictions that arise when engaging with iconic art works (No A trio A or Cuadrado Negro). In 2009, Camil formed a performance-based band with Esteban and Anajosé Aldrete. Creating outfits and scenery for El Resplandor’s site specific performances, the artist evokes a ritualistic cathartic atmosphere for the band’s loud, trance-induced music.
Camil has had solo exhibitions at CAC in Cincinnati and Blum and Poe in Los Angeles. Her work has also been included in group exhibitions at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Saatchi Gallery, and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, among other institutions.
Erin Lewis is a British fashion designer based in Mexico City. In her work she shows commitment to working to sustain traditional textile techniques, to sustain and improve the working lives of artisans and to sustain the handcraft and arts of tailoring and haute couture. Erin is currently the head of design at Carla Fernandez, the head of tailoring at TALLER Fashion Development Project in Mexico City, and continues to work on creative projects and collaborations. The brand focuses on making use of Mexico’s skilled artisans and textile heritage by combining traditional textile processes with contemporary design.
Her work has been published in international press and James Sherwood's book; The Master Tailors of British Bespoke, and has been exhibited at various museums including the FIT New York and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Boston.
Courtesy of the Artist and Designer