Marcos Ramirez ERRE

born 1961 in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico; lives and works in Tijuana, Mexico and in San Diego, USA

ERRE does not have any formal training in art. A law graduate, he has always been interested in social and political issues. A political activist, he started using art forms to express ideas and point to important socio-political problems. Born in Mexico, yet having spent a large part of his life in the USA, he has both the insider’s knowledge of the problems of these two countries, as well as the outsider’s fresh perspective on them. This perspective is present in his works. A significant number of his artworks bring to the public attention the issue of Mexican-American borderland – the economic periphery, torn by conflicts and violence. One of his most important works is Toy an horse, a monumental wooden sculpture of a two-headed horse, created on the basis of the Homer’s description of the Trojan Horse in the Iliad, which points directly to the problem of Mexican-American borderland. Presenting the Trojan Horse as a two-headed creature is to point out the complex relationship between the two countries, where it is not really clear who is invading whom. Another work, Stop signs¸ symbolises the borderland, a confined zone governed by violent rules – the land of limitations, hate and fear. Eye charts is a series of works presenting poignant quotes from people such as Buddha or Desmond Tutu in the form of Snellen eye charts, used by ophthalmologists for eye tests. Just as normal eye charts are used to test visual acuity, ERREs eye charts are used to test the awareness and sensitivity to the suffering and evil that surrounds us.

What do contemporary people need art for?
Contemporary society today needs Art for the same reason that it has needed it since the first human being appeared in this world, because Art is a need and a tool for communication, the supreme  expression of the soul, and the best way to understand ourselves, our needs, our deeds our motivations. This world without Art would be a very lame desert.

Why do you create art?
Because I care and that is the best way for me to express myself.