Said Dokins (México 1983)


Said Dokins (Mexico, 1983) Lives and works in Mexico City. He studied in the School of Arts and Design (ENAP) in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and did some courses of Philosophy and Art Theory. He has also studied traditional calligraphy with well-known national and international calligraphers and Japanese calligraphy. Since the 90s he started doing graffiti and street interventions.

Said Dokins explores formally, symbolically and philosophically the potentiality of words and letters. In his work, they become gestures, traces that overlap creating patterns, textures, narratives; marks that carve sites, drawing boundaries, producing meaning. In that sense, for Dokins calligraphy and graffiti are a way to understand our relations with language, an action that stresses time, space and memory, a political enunciation.  

These reflexions become evident in Apparitions (2011), an installation that explores with the tension between memory and concealment, regarding to the victims of political “disappearance” (clandestine and unclarified abductions) in Mexico. This piece, exhibited for the first time in The House ofIndomitable Memory, has been honored with the Iberoamerican Award to Contemporary Artistic Creation Cortes de Cádiz, “Juan Luis Vasallo” 2015.

Dokins has won international attention for his monumental murals in the public space. One of the latest is Chalchihuite (2017), a calligraphic intervention done for the Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art, MUCA, the biggest mural in Munich, with over 1200 square meters. His mural interventions often address social and political issues, like The Order Crumbles (2016), a graffiti bomb painted in Mexicali, at the border between Mexico and United States or American Women Fighter (2016), a mural for Coachella Walls Festival, where he included the names of women and collectives from the Americas that have fought for their civil rights.
He is best known for his unique calligraphic style, which combines elements from Western and Asian Calligraphic Traditions, with pre-phonetic writing references, Mesoamerican Pre-Hispanic symbolic inheritance and Graffiti writing. However, his artistic practice involves several disciplines and media such as calligraphy, graffiti, installation, performance and video art, among others.

It’s worth to mention his concern about light that has lead him to experiment with various technologies and media, including Virtual Reality, through Tilt Brush a tool he explored in the Google Cultural Institute in Paris. Another recent example is his project Heliographies of Memory (2015-2017), which examines the different levels in which inscriptions operate through light calligraphy actions performed in symbolically charged places, capturing the action of writing with long exposure photography: invisible inscriptions of light resignifying the space they cross.

Dokins cultural practice involves artistic creation, interventions in the public space, research, curatorship and cultural management. As a curator, he has developed diverse projects linked related to urban art and contemporary art practices that address social and political issues. Stand out VisibleInvisibilization. Approaches to the Subject of Violence (2013-2014), and UrbanInterstices, International Exhibition of Urban Arts, (2011), a paradigmatic show that depicted a cartography of urban artistic practices in Latin America.

He is a member of recognized international associations like Calligraphy Masters and Calligraffiti. His work has been published in noted books and magazines, like Re_form, OSTRALE Biennale of Dresden Catalogue, The Art of Writing your Name, The Art of Rebellion, third and fourth volumes, or Letter Arts Review, a renowned calligraphy publication. It has been exhibited nationally and internationally, in countries as Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, France, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, El Salvador, Peru and others.


EDUCATION


2001-2004         Visual Arts, School of Arts and Design, National Autonomous University of Mexico, UNAM, Mexico City.

2005-2006         Philosophy, School of Philosophy and Letters, FFyL, National Autonomous University of Mexico, UNAM, Mexico City.



SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS AND MURALS

2017     Chalchihuite, Calligraphic intervention for the Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art, MUCA, Munich, Germany. Sponsored by the National Funding for Culture and Arts (FONCA), Mexico.

2016     Vesperide, Calligraphic intervention for Atelier Les Sauvages, DARWIN Ecosysteme, Bordeaux, France.

2016     About the memory, Ultraviolet Light calligraphy intervention for Le MUR, Bordeaux, France.

2016     El orden se derrumba (The Order Crumbles), Graffiti bomb at the border between Mexico and United States, Mexicali.

2015     Stolen Suns, Calligraphic intervention, Camden, London, UK.

2015     Notes about the Border, Calligraphic intervention, Cadiz, Spain. 

2014     Taiyō (Sun), Calligraphic intervention, Futurama Cultural Center, Mexico City.

2012     Apparitions, Ultraviolet light installation for The House of Indomitable Memory, Mexico City.


SELECTED COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS AND FESTIVALS


2017     7th Annual PRHBTN Street Art Festival, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.

2017     PRHBTN Exhibition, Loudoun House Galleries Lexington Art League, Kentucky, USA.

2017     Street Art Today, Street Art Museum of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
           
2017     Stroke Art Fair for New Contemporary Art, Munich, Germany.

2017     IBUG Festival for Street Art, Chemnitz, Germany.

2017     11th International Exhibition, OSTRALE Biennale, Dresden, Germany. [Opening performance]

2017     The Art of Writing, Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art, MUCA, Munich, Germany.

2017     Letrastica Festival, II Conference of Type Design, Calligraphy and Lettering, Innovation and Design Center, MIND, Guadalajara, Mexico. Organized by Typos.

2017     WallDialogue2 Germany - Mexico, Artistic Interventions in La Merced neighborhood, Mexico City. Organized by Neurotitan (Ger) and Atea (CDMX).

2017     Go Back to School, Alphabet et sa signature, La Popartiserie Gallery, Strasburg, France.

2016     Die verborgene Schrift, Freiraumgalerie, Halle Saale, Germany.

2016     Interactos - Encuentros Públicos de Artes. (Interacts- Public Encounters of Arts), University of Arts of Ecuador (UArtes), Guayaquil, Ecuador. Organized by 400 Metros, (Urban Art Platform).

2016     // NO FONT ((CODEX)…, Avantgarden Gallery, Milan, Italy.

2016     No Name, Dax Gallery, Los Angeles, USA.

2016     Lignes Urbaines, Cox Gallery, Bordeaux, France.

2016     IBUG Festival for Street Art, Limbach, Germany.

2016     The Design of Words, Aqua Sumarte, Milan, Italy.

2016     Stroke Art Fair for New Contemporary Art, Munich, Germany.

2016     Street Art Evry Centre Essonne Festival, Paris, France.

2016     Wall Exhibition, Nucleus, Labolic, Paris, France.

2016     Coachella Walls Festival, Pueblo Viejo, USA.

2015     Graffictti Exhibition – Said Dokins, Mazatl, Fusca, Ácaro, London, United Kingdom.

2015     10x10 Poliniza, Vice-chancellorship Office, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. Curated by Joan Peiró and Juan Canales.

2014     Tribute to Dr. Atl in the 50th Anniversary of his Passing, Bernardo Quintana Art Center, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Mexico.
2014     Migrant Suitcases/ Maletas migrantes, 50th Anniversary of Ford Foundation in Latin America, American History Museum, San Diego, USA; Tijuana Cultural Center, CECUT, Tijuana, Mexico; European Foundation Centre Philanthropy House, Brussels, Belgium; National Museum of Anthropology of El Salvador Republic Dr. David J. Guzmán, San Salvador, El Salvador. Organized by Ford Foundation and Ambulante Documentary Film Festival.
2014     In Vitro, School of Fine Arts’ Hall, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain.        
2014     Poliniza, IX Urban Art Festival, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. [Catalogue]
2014     International Award of Arts Caja de Extremadura OBRA ABIERTA 2014 Exhibition, "Las Claras" Cultural Center, Plasencia, Spain.
2013     Momento Cero (Zero Moment), Ex Teresa Arte Actual, National Institute of Fine Arts, INBA, Mexico City.

2012     Callegenera Festival of Urban Expressions, Council for Culture and Arts of Nuevo Leon, CONARTE, Nave Generadores Art Center, Monterrey, Mexico.

2011     From Urban to Contemporary, Urban Art EFX, International Exhibition of Urban Artists, CBK, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
2011     Siempre el mismo, siempre otro. Una lectura sobre resistencias (Always the Same, Always the Other. A Take on Resistance), Argentinian Workers Central, CTA, Buenos Aires, Argentina. [Catalogue]
2011     The Dumpster Biennale, Magazine Gallery, Adelaide, Australia.
2011     The Art of Rebellion #3, Helmet Gallery, Munich, Germany.
2010     Conspiración (Conspiracy), Cut Out Fest, Queretaro, Mexico.
2010     No Local, International Video Art Exhibition, School of Arts, ASAB, Distrital University Francisco José Caldas, Bogota, Colombia.
2010     Habitar. No Autorizado (Inhabit- Non Authorized). Public interventions in Mexico City’s Downton area. Sponsored by Patronato de Arte Contemporáneo, PAC, Mexico City.
2009     A5IM´TRIA V Video Art International Exhibition,   Telefonica Foundation Center, Lima; Peruvian North-American Cultural Institute Theater, Arequipa, Peru. [Catalogue]
2009     IV Prague Biennale, Expanded Painting Section, “One hundred years. Endogamic & exogamic pictorial practices in México”, Prague, Czech Republic. Curated by Alessandra Poggianti and Juan Pablo Macías. [Catalogue]

2009     Digital Graffiti, The World’s First Outdoor Projection Art Festival, Alys Beach, USA.

2009     Indoor, Urban Art from México, France and Chile, Trafixx Gallery, Santiago de Chile.

2005     Reacción [1]. Performance. Ex Teresa Arte Actual, National Institute of Fine Arts, INBA, Mexico City.


SELECTED COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS

2015-2017 Heliographies of Memory series, Light Calligraphy Photographs in collaboration with Leonardo Luna.

2016     Le Message Secret (The Secret Message), Mural Intervention in collaboration with MonkeyBird, Bordeaux, France.

2016     Devient Animal (Become Animal), Mural Intervention in collaboration with MonkeyBird, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

2015     Los jóvenes no seguiremos siendo víctimas de su violencia de Estado (We, the Youth, Won’t Continue Being Victims of your State Violence), Mural in memory of Ricardo Cadena. Collaboration with Karas Urbanas and Sortek.

ARTIST RESIDENCIES


2017     Heliographies of Memory series, Light Calligraphy, Heerlen Murals, Heerlen, Netherlands.

2017     Locatie Spatie, Arnhem, Netherlands.

2015     Encontro de artistas novos (New Artists Encounter), Organized by the City of Culture of Galicia and the Cultural Center of Spain in Montevideo, Uruguay.

2010     International Meeting of Art for Action and Reflexion “ArtexParte”, Berazategui, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

AWARDS


2015     Winner- Iberoamerican Prize to Contemporary Artistic Creation Cortes de Cádiz, “Juan Luis Vasallo”, Cadiz City Council, Spain.

2014     Winner-  POLINIZA 2014 Competition of Urban Art, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. [Catalogue]

2014     Selected Work-  3rd Edition of the Plastic Arts International Award of Caja de Extremadura “Obra Abierta 2014, Extremadura, Spain. [Catalogue]

2014     Selected work- 6th Art International Award of María José Jove Foundation, Coruña, Spain.

2012     Honorable Mention- International Competition of Urban Art, Artaq Awards, Paris, France. Category: Experimental Video. [Catalogue]

2012     Winner- Youth Prize Federal District (Mexico City). Category: Artistic and Cultural Activities.

2011     Honorable Mention- International Competition of Urban Art, Artaq Awards, Paris, France. Category: Public Art. [Catalogue]

2010     Selected Work-  DA FEST. International Digital Arts Festival, National Academy of Art, Sofia, Bulgaria.
2010     Selected Work-  3rd International Video Art Festival of Camagüey, Cuba.
2010     Selected Work-   Entijuanarte Revoluciona, Tijuana, Mexico.
2010     Winner- Education and Culture Program Award, National Institute of Fine Arts, INBA, Mexico.

2010     Finalist-  3rd Annual Digital Graffiti Art Festival Competition, Alys Beach, USA.
2009     Finalist- Cut out Fest. International Animation and Digital Art Festival, Queretaro, Mexico.
2009     Finalist- Arte 40, National Council of Culture and Arts, CONACULTA, José Vasconcelos Library, Mexico.
2009     Finalist- 2nd Annual Digital Graffiti Art Festival Competition, Alys Beach, USA.
2008     Winner-  University of the Valley of Mexico, UVM Prize for the Social Development, Mexico.
2008     Winner- Alternative Social Communication Award, General Direction for Equality and Social Diversity (DGIDS), Mexico. Category: Poster.
2008     Winner- Alternative Social Communication Award, General Direction for Equality and Social Diversity (DGIDS), Mexico. Category: Book.


CURATORIAL PROJECTS

2014     Visible Invisibilización. Aproximaciones en torno a la violencia (Visible Invisibilization. Approaches to the Subject of Violence), Alfredo Zalce Contemporary Art Museum, MACAZ (2014); Museum of the City of Queretaro (2013), Mexico. http://visibleinvisibilizacion.org/
            [Catalogue]

2013     Callegenera Festival of Urban Expressions, Council for Culture and Arts of Nuevo Leon, CONARTE, Nave Generadores Art Center, Monterrey, Mexico. http://goo.gl/NNuiVK

2013     Fire Camo. New Works by Benuz Guerrero, Anomalia Gallery, Mexico City.

2012     Obligado a desobedecer, First Solo Show in LA of Satterugly, Crewest Gallery, Los Angeles, USA.  http://goo.gl/iXhVXO, https://alex-poli-8htn.squarespace.com/history-of-crewest

2011     Huele a muerto (Smells Like Death), Exhibition of the work of Alexis Mata "Ciler", Yautepec Gallery, Mexico City. http://goo.gl/TMhJwd

2011     Intersticios urbanos. Muestra internacional de arte urbano (Urban Interstices, International Exhibition of Urban Arts), Cultural Center of Spain in Mexico, CCE, Mexico City.  


SELECTED CRITICAL WRITING AND RESEARCH

2015    “Visible Invisibilización. Aproximaciones en torno a la violencia” (“Visible Invisibilization. Approaches to the Subject of Violence”) in Martinez, Gabriela y Said Dokins, editors. Visible Invisibilización. Aproximaciones en torno a la violencia. Mexico: Pneuma.

2012     “Teotihuacan a go gore! Aullidos y disonancias de Tierra Caliente a la Patagonia”, Rufián         Magazine, No. 12, December, Santiago de Chile. [Issue’s director and author]

2008     De la barda. Women’s Participation in Street Art, Mexico: FLACSO, Latin American Youth Collective, W.K. Kellogg Foundation. [Video]
           
2008     Desbordamientos de una periferia femenina (Outbursts of a Female Periphery), Mexico: Pneuma, Sociedad Dokins. [Co-author]
           
2007     La calle es de nosotras: La participación de la mujer en el arte urbano (The Street is Ours: Women’s participation in Urban Art), Mexico: Sociedad Dokins. [Co-author]


SELECTED BIBLIOGRPHY

Print Media:

2017     Daniele Tozzy, Words into shapes. The Graphic Art of Calligram, Barcelona: Monsa, 104-113.

2017     Andrea Hilger, et. al., Re_form, Dresdren: OSTRALE Biennale, 140-141.

2017     Christian Hundertmark and Patrick Hardlt, The Art of Writing your Name, Mainaschaff: Publikat, 60-67.

2016     Christian Hundertmark, The Art of Rebellion. Masterpieces of Urban Art, IV, Mainaschaff: Publikat, 152-153.

2016     Kristel Pfeifer, edit., Arte Urbano Latino, Santiago de Chile: Arte Al Límite, 44-53.

2016     Chrixcel, MonkeyBird, Singerie Oisive, Opus Delits Collection No. 66, Grenoble: Critères Èditions, 44-53, 90-91.

2016     Christopher Calderhead, “Said Dokins: An LAR Interview”, Letter Arts Review, Vol. 30, No. 2, Greensboro: Letter Arts Review, 1, 40-59.

2016     Joan Peiró, Poliniza Festival D’ Art Urbà, Valencia: Polytechnic University of Valencia.

2013     Pedro Gadanho, coord., Performance –Architecture, Guimaraes: Guimaraes 2012 European Capital of Culture, Arts & Architecture Cluster, 95. 

2013     Antonio Luna, “Interview with Said Dokins” Ilegal Squad Magazine, No. 76, September, Mexico, 48-57. https://issuu.com/ilegalsquad/docs/ilegal_squad_issue_76
2013     Sara Afonso, coord., La Noche. Una cartografía de la ciudad de México (The night. A Cartogrphy of Mexico City), Mexico: DGE Equilibrista, 18, 26, 170-171, 174-175.

2011     Maximiliano Ruiz, Nuevo Mundo, Latin American Street Art, Berlin: Gestalten, 222-223.   

2011     Julio García Murillo, “Alfabetos barrados. Acerca de la obra de Said Dokins” (“Barred Alphabets. On the Said Dokins’ Work”), Revista Metapolítica, Vol.15, No. 73, April-June, Mexico.  http://www.metapolitica.com.mx/

2010     Hundertmark, Christian. The Art of Rebellion. The Book About Street Art, Vol. III, Mainaschaff: Publikat, 152-155. 

2009     Marc Wnuck, Latin America. World Wide Graphic Design. Cologne: Zeixs, Feierabend Unique Books, 133.

2008     Giovanni Troconi, México: Stencil: Propa, Mexico: Arts & Graphics, RM.

2003     Raquel Bialik, El humor en la ciencia (Humor in Science)
, Mexico: UNAM.