Where dance meets visual art: Interview with Studio Lenca
News Story
Artist Jose Campos, also-known-as Studio Lenca, is a LCDS alum based in Margate who works with performance, video, painting and sculpture. Born in El Savaldor, Studio Lenca has exhibited work at Soho Revue, Untitled Art Fair, and has recently been selected by artist Tracey Emin to join TKE studios in Margate.
We chatted to Jose to find out more about his work, practice and time at LCDS.
Q: Tell us about yourself and your main artistic interests.
A: I’m an artist working under the name Studio Lenca. ‘Studio’ refers to a space for experimentation, a laboratory for praxis; ‘Lenca’ is the name of the Mesoamerican indigenous people of eastern El Salvador.
I was born in La Paz, El Salvador and like many had to flee the country during the civil war. I travelled to the US by land illegally with my mother and grew up as an ‘illegal alien’. My work is focused on ideas surrounding difference, knowledge and visibility.
Q: Identity and migration are key topics in your work. How do you use your art to explore these topics?
A: A key point in my practice has been my ‘Los Historiantes’ series. These works are based on the folkloric dancers of El Salvador. This is an ongoing project in which I create portraits of myself and others dressed as a Historiante. Los Historiantes are a result of traditions brought over by the Iberian conquistadors during the colonisation of the Americas mixed with pre- Columbian beliefs. The Historiantes series offers an embodied archive of trauma that is still relevant today. When building these costumes, the collection of materials becomes difficult and I often need to borrow from different cultures with similar histories, this process becomes the performance.
The inability to access authentic materials for the costumes highlights my distance from my home country. The trajectories Salvadoran people and many Central American nations have taken stems back to violent histories, specifically the colonisation of the Americas by European colonisers. This postcolonial intergenerational trauma is present to this day and can be seen in public discourse of Latinx communities, especially in the U.S.
This series and the resultant research have informed my paintings.
I wanted to join an institution that had a radical approach which would treat me as a contemporary artist
Studio Lenca
Q: Which MA course did you do at LCDS and how did it inform your artistic practice?
A: I studied the Postgraduate Diploma/Master of Arts in Contemporary Dance. It was an amazing experience and it offered me the chance to see myself as an artist. I developed a critical approach to my practice that allowed me to engage with academic thinking. I also built up a rich network and community which has supported me so much.
Q: We understand that studying dance can be a gateway to discovering different disciplines and finding new ways to express yourself. Why did you feel it was important to study a dance-based degree?
A: My background had always been in dance before joining LCDS. I grew up in San Francisco where I attended Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of The Arts and then collaborated with some great companies and practitioners. I danced with ODC and Liss Fain, as well as spending some time at Alvin Ailey in New York. I had the pleasure of training with Alonzo King at Lines Ballet who taught me to see myself as an artist.
When I moved to London it was natural for me to want to pursue a dance based degree, however I wanted to join an institution that had a radical approach which would treat me as a contemporary artist. In London I had access to so many incredible galleries and experimental institutions that allowed me to ‘play’ such as Chisenhale Dance Space where I ran a series of workshops. I would spend hours visiting places like The British Museum, The Tate and Whitechapel Gallery in between sessions in the studio.
Q: What kind of projects have you been working on recently?
A: Earlier this year I had a solo show at Tang Contemporary in Seoul. It was so exciting to see all of my work in such a beautiful space. I had a solo show which opened this month at Soho Revue. It was a huge deal for me as it was my first solo show in London. I will then be taking part in the Fountainhead residency and Untitled Art Fair in Miami.
I have also been selected by Tracey Emin to join TKE studios in Margate. The studio is housed in a converted Edwardian bath house in Margate's old town. It's going to be an incredible space to work in and I can't wait to meet other contemporary artists involved in the project.
Header image credit: Fountainhead Arts. Images below: 'Flock 2022', Tang Contemporary Art Exhibition Seoul, 'Dichosofui 2022'.
