Misfits Series, 2011
Robot and hose. Variable dimensions
Courtesy of the artist
Technological progress requires ingenuity and tenacity, and Guillem Bayo (Barcelona, 1974) determinedly applies both of these traits to his work. He challenges himself to devise new uses for existing objects or to use functional pieces to create new objects that sometimes end up being surreal in terms of usefulness in their new mode.
The playful and paradoxical aspect of Guillem Bayo’s works makes us think about machines, their use, and contemporary humankind’s need for them, beyond rationales based on the logic of progress as the driving force and generator of experiences in the field of R+D. Bayo explores the relationship between man and the machines that surround his whole existence, but his eagerness to propose new uses leads him to take paths that are sometimes useless, mistaken, or have no specific clear purpose in practical terms.
An artist who is curious about everything that surrounds him, particularly if it has a motor inside, Guillem Bayo seems to focus on an obsessive idea that gradually takes over his brain until he has no choice but to carry it out.
Somewhat like a scientist obsessed by the need to understand a theory, explain it through an experiment, or make it work by means of an impossible formula, Guillem Bayo does not care if others have done it before him, because everybody has their own challenges to face and problems to work out. Science is all about an intelligent approach: looking, feeling wonder, and then thinking with greater curiosity. Intuition and logic go hand in hand with the desire to venture one step further. Seeking inspiration in one of the exhibition centres where this work was to be shown, Bayo found some emergency fire hoses resting peacefully in their box, in the hope of never being needed, while some fire extinguishers, eager to prove their usefulness, end up working when nobody needs them, in a series of new works called Misfits.