The video ‘El guardian’ is a 12-minute silent video that follows the nocturnal wanderings of a cemetery keeper, an otherworldly figure embodied by the artist himself, wearing a mask and uniform.

It is at nightfall that the guardian appears, emerging from one tomb only to end up in another one. He is constantly occupied and always on the lookout. The guardian keeps watch and patrols; he sweeps, gathers leaves and debris, waters plants, and polishes bronze statues. Using these statues, he creates molds (resembling Ken’s actions in his artistic practice) of the faces of the deceased, which he later wears as masks. By turns a mustached old man, a mourning woman, or a martyr, the guardian has many faces although he no longer has an identity: he is death in disguise.

Here, Ken Sortais revisits the theme of the double, central also in his sculptural practice, and previously explored through a video, in 2017, featuring his alter ego character Kevin, another kind of fetishist drawn to statuary. 

Ken Sortais (b. 1983, Paris) lives and works between Paris and Marseille. His practice revolves around furtive latex casting performed in public space, a method partly rooted in his background in graffiti. Acting both by day and by night, the artist takes 1:1 impressions of statues and other subjects, either architectural or industrial, later transforming these “skins” in the studio through processes of inflation, distortion, and assemblage. Air becomes an invisible sculptor, altering forms and turning surfaces inside out. Sortais’ sculptures merge the codes of classical statuary with the mutating bodies of horror cinema and mythology, producing figures that appear at once solemn and grotesque. Since 2017, video has entered Sortais’ practice, showcasing and starring masked alter egos of the artist whose nocturnal actions echo the artist’s own operations, in even more dramatic and evocative settings. Across sculpture, video, and installation, Sortais constructs a universe both unsettling and playful, where fiction, appropriation, and metamorphosis intersect. 

Since our opening in 2013, our main goal has been to support artists who explore practices that we consider relevant within the current artistic context. Their works address concerns of our time, raising questions or responding to issues that are still pertinent today. Providing visibility to these methodologies and sharing them is the fundamental pillar of Galería Alegría and our primary motivation. We understand the gallery as a venue where people can exchange knowledge through intimate contact with the artworks. We believe that art can be a transformative experience, offering us different ways to understand the world we live in and, consequently, enriching our lives. As a gallery, our proposal is aimed at those who expect to find in contemporary art a space for both delight and reflection, without renouncing the sensuality of matter. Through our exhibition program, we hope to propitiate mutual growth between the public and the artists we work with.