Cabello/Carceller

About this book

Inspired by the Inquisition case, the central axis of this catalog is A / O (Céspedes Case) (Video + Photographs, 2009-2010), a mixed media project (photos and video) by Madrid-based artists Cabello/Carceller (Helena Cabello (Madrid) and Ana Carceller (París, 1963)) that reflects on the traces of a life recorded in the inquisitorial dossier. Elena(o) de Céspedes (Toledo, 1587) was a historical figure of the Spanish Baroque, who was born in Granada and spent his/her life between Andalusia and Castile during the 16th Century, a woman, a mulatto and a slave, he/she became a surgeon and was married in the church as a man with a woman, to be later judged and condemned by the Spanish Inquisition. In the video made by Cabello / Carceller, a character of undetermined gender, Alex, investigates the gardens and rooms of the Monastery of the Cartuja de Sevilla, the Baroque building where the Andalusian Center for Contemporary Art is currently located. In the film A / O (Céspedes Case), the artists Cabello / Carceller suggest an alternative approach to the problem of how to read and connect with a queer dissident whose life, mentality and language experiences were quite different from ours.