Luis Martinez

Born 1981, El Salvador
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons)
Graduation show: 2004, 2006 (Hons)

Artworks in Space YZ

Alberti Drive, 2004
Oil on canvas
90 x 160 cm
Collection: Campbelltown Arts Centre

Sheriffs deputies have found a reported dozen coffins robbed... 2004
Oil on canvas
55 x 40 cm
Collection: Drew Bickford

Look I'll make you a deal. I'll give you 10%. Anything! Just leave me alone, 2003
Oil on canvas
55 x 40 cm
Collection: Drew Bickford

She's tough. She's Dangerous. She's all woman. She's Leroy's mama, 2004
Oil on canvas
55 x 40 cm
Collection: Rachel Roberts

In second-year I did a painting elective and one of the projects required us to paint an actor or character from a film. It was a very simple brief and my immediate thought was to paint ‘the toxic avenger’. I had (and still have) a real passion for schlocky horror and b-grade films, and The Toxic Avenger (1984) was a film I really loved at the time. However, I struggled to find the right image of him to paint. As this was still in the early internet era, good online images were scarce, and so I resorted to other means. I tried photographing him directly from the TV screen as the movie played.

I was really happy with the results. Photographing the TV screen saturated the colours and really distorted and disrupted the realm created on screen. So I decided to develop a whole series of paintings on The Toxic Avenger movie. This subsequently led to other paintings of the televisual image from movies and TV shows. The idea evolved and unraveled as I worked on it as a series for my third year grad show. I liked the way the paintings of the TV still took on their own new narrative and the interplay between multiple realities. The realm of the fictional story, the world and portrayal of bad acting/actors, and lastly the life and tangibility of the painting itself. 

My focus in these paintings shifted away from the horror or action elements and focused more towards the actors themselves. I think as an art student finding my way I felt a sense of familiarity with some of these unknown actors in shitty movies and their desperation to stand out.

In the Space YZ exhibition, the three paintings from the TV series include reference the movies: Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), The Toxic Avenger (1984) and Surf Nazis Must Die! (1987).

Following third-year I decided to do an honours degree. I wasn't ready to take on the real world yet. I also decided I had to change direction and work on something a bit more serious. My focus turned to suburbia. 

Initially I approached the new series from a point of irony. I thought I could try to humorously portray the suburbs of Western Sydney with a sense of romanticism and beauty. As I worked on these pieces though I realised that it was no longer ironic. Although I saw growing up in Western Sydney as some kind of hindrance, the development of these paintings and drawings revealed something a little deeper to me. The banality of these landscapes was laced with despair and looking back on these works now I can see there was much more to them. This series of works reflected on the idea of home and belonging from the perspective of being a migrant. They were also an assessment on values in social class and what we aspire to attain, but more importantly they turned into a sincere appreciation and tribute to the suburbs.

The painting Aliberti Drive depicts a view of the street where I lived with my family while I studied at UWS.

My time at UWS studying Fine Arts were very formative years. I went into it with very little understanding and hardly any exposure to fine arts. It was not something I was raised with, and to be honest my first preference was to study graphic design at UWS, but after several rejected attempts to transfer I decided I would commit myself to the BFA and give art a proper go. In hindsight, it was always the better fit for me anyways. 

The first few years I found to be strange but I loved that we were pushed to try different mediums and approaches to art making, even if they weren't right for us. I made some really cringey video art pieces and some really forgettable collaborations. From second year onwards I really committed myself to oil painting as my medium of choice. I recall I would often stay back late in Z block working until closing time. It was such a great environment and I really fed off the energy of having other creative people around me. It was great to meet more like-minded people and I developed some great friendships with artists and lecturers I really respected. 

I remember having two exhibitions in Space YZ in my time there. One was with my good friend Yuko Matsuzawa. I really loved her work and she was a real inspiration. She covered everyday objects with Styrofoam balls, meticulously applying them one by one with white house paint. She would also create abstract paintings. Although our work was very different, we felt they complemented one another, so we put on a show together in Space YZ. It was my first ever organised exhibition which we titled Wheat Bix with Wine. Although it was a humble space we treated it with a proper exhibition opening. We supplied goon and cheap beer with snacks and invited all our peers along. It was a lot of fun. We later applied to have a show together at Firstdraft.

My time at UWS also led to some great opportunities and experiences. I assisted in teaching a painting elective during my honours year which I thoroughly enjoyed. And I also did some casual work with the university curator, helping to install exhibitions and works from the university collection at different campuses. I was also privileged to undertake commissions for the Whitlam Institute to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the dismissal. To be honest, I had little knowledge of Whitlam prior to being approached, but it was a learning experience and a real honour to meet him. I created a large painted portrait and three etchings from archival photographs supplied by the Whitlam Institute.

To see Luis Martinez’s more recent work, visit his Instagram.