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Nacionalismo doméstico, 2004. Video loop. Edition of 6.

Acto heroico I, 2004. Colour photography. 178 x 190 cm. Edition of 6.

Nacionalismo doméstico II, 2004. Gas stove (USA-Spain). 90 x 50 x 85 cm. Unique edition.

Actos heroicos I, 2004. Drawing printed on photographic paper. 50 x 50 cm. Unique edition.

Actos heroicos II, 2004. Drawing printed on photogrpahic paper. 50 x 50 cm. Unique edition.

Actos heroicos III, 2004. Drawing printed on photographic paper. 50 x 50 cm. Unique edition.

Actos heroicos IV, 2004. Drawing printed on photographic paper. 50 x 50 cm. Unique edition.

Actos heroicos V, 2004. Drawing printed on photographic paper. 50 x 50 cm. Unique edition.

Actos heroicos VI, 2004. Drawing printed on photographic paper. 50 x 50 cm. Unique edition.

Casa infinita (grande), 2004. Drawing on photographic paper. 195 x 230 cm. Edition of 6.

Casa (España), 2004. Drawing on photographic paper. 164 x 164 cm. Edition of 6.

Casa (Italia), 2004. Drawing on photographic paper. 193 x 166 cm. Edición de 6.

Casa infinita (pequeña), 2004. Drawing on photographic paper. 135 x 135 cm. Edition of 6.

Acto heroico II, 2004. Colour photography. 100 x 85 cm. Edition of 6.

Nacionalismo doméstico, 2004. Video. 7'. Edition of 8.

Mesa España, Mesa Francia, Mesa Italia, Mesa Gran Bretaña, 2004. Wood. Variable dimensions. Unique edition.

Mateo Maté
Nacionalismo doméstico
January 20 - March 5, 2005

The work of Mateo Maté (Madrid, 1964) has always been geared towards a certain investigation into his surroundings, which recently has come to focus on the domestic and family landscape.

In his previous series the artist approached the domestic environment as an exploration, through topographies or spy-plane simulations that could be understood as the previous phases in a plan of attack like the one that is now being shown in his work at the Oliva Arauna Gallery.

In his new series of works, the elements, landscapes and forms of battlefield are mixed up with elements from the home. The intention of the artist is summarised in the video produced for the exhibition, where recognisable gestures and attitudes from a family celebration are merged together with battle preparations and developments. The scenes follow after each other, mingling together until they all form part of the same violent tension.

The artist seeks to have an impact on this tension that when extrapolated and brought to paroxysm reflects the closeness of this external violence and the intrinsic link that is at the essence of man even in the most everyday and family-orientated acts. In the exhibition the dining tables become territories to defend, with their flags being, of course, the cloths that ought to cover them, proudly hoisted in their masts like those of any “legitimate” country. Everyday scenes are converted into heroic acts, like the housewife in the attic who proclaims her rebellion by taking her table cloth as a flag, or into violence, like the man who holds his drill with the same desperation of a soldier gripping onto his weapon in a battle. The most innocent acts transform, in the confusion that is induced, into aggressive acts that show the daily tension and daily nature of violence.

In Nacionalismo Doméstico, Mateo Maté blurs the lines that mark the boundaries of the private and, with the “great truths” magnifying the small “battles”, ridicules the fact that we find ourselves defending a small piece of land, in an absurd act of endless egoism. The war at home, every day, just like the war outside. A homemade microcosm that reflects the macrocosm that surrounds us.