Camila Cañeque

Camila Cañeque
Born	(1984-06-15)15 June 1984 Barcelona, Spain
Died	15 February 2024(2024-02-15) (aged 39)
Education	Pompeu Fabra University
Alma mater	Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Humanities
Known for	Performance art, writing
Notable work	La última frases
Awards	Zenda Ópera Prima 2023-2024 Award
Website	https://camilacaneque.com/

Camila Cañeque (15 June 1984 – 15 February 2024) was a philosopher, conceptual and performance artist from Barcelona. Her work critiqued modernity and existential fatigue.[1] Her work explored the concept of unproductivity, inefficiency and the unfinished in a chaotic world.[2]

Background

Cañeque was born in Barcelona to parents Montse González Chicota and Ramón Cañeque.[3]

Cañeque's early work involved inserting herself passively into spaces in character, investigating inaction.[4][5] Her work has been described as sarcastic, and often with a dark sense of humor, exploring themes such as inaction and rebellion of a consumerist society.[6]

In 2013, she gained attention for a surprise performance piece at Madrid's ARCO [ca] Contemporary art fair where she appeared lying on the ground in a flamenco dress surrounded by flowers and verses by Lorca. Her motionless performance, performance Dead end at the fair interrupted proceedings and sought to symbolize the "death of Spain".[7] The fair censored her performance.[8] Prior to exhibiting performance Dead end, Cañeque toured the United States dressed as a flamenco dancer for Souvenir, a critique on tourism.[9]

Cañeque would go on to exhibit her work internationally in New York, Brazil and across Europe.[3][10]

In 2019, she received a residency to develop new performance artworks at Mana Contemporary, for their Mana Contemporary x Secret Project Robot residency program.[4] Cañeque did not consider herself a studio based artist. While in the United States, Cañeque described her residency as a "RETREAT" where she developed installations exploring the "gymnastics of stillness".[4]

She died in her sleep unexpectedly at age 39.[1] She was reportedly pregnant with her first child.[11] At the time of her death, she was finishing her first book La última frases, a treatise on the final endings of texts, in an exploration of the outcome of things.[12] The book would be published posthumously.[11][13]

Honours

In March 2024, Spanish artist Marc Montijano distributed poems by Lorca in a tribute to Cañeque at Madrid's ARCO art fair, similarly without permission from the fair's organizers.[14]

In November 2024, she was posthumously awarded the Zenda Ópera Prima 2023-2024 Award for La última frases.[3]

Bibliography

• La última frases, Camila Cañeque. Published April 2024 by La Uña Rota. ISBN 978-8418782459

References

1. Egea, Ana Vidal (2024-02-23). "Muere a los 39 años Camila Cañeque, la filósofa y artista que abrazó la inactividad como forma de resistencia". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-12-05.
2. Molina, Ángela (2024-11-16). "Elogio de la nada, o la exposición póstuma de Camila Cañeque". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-12-05.
3. "Camila Cañeque, Premio Zenda Ópera Prima 2023-2024". Zenda (in Spanish). 2024-11-21. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
4. "Mana Performance Residencies: Camila Cañeque". Artsy. 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
5. "Camila Cañeque, la artista que compuso una oda a la inactividad". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2024-10-23. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
6. Tur, Antoni Ribas (2024-10-23). "Descubrir la obra de Camila Cañeque después de su muerte prematura". Ara en Castellano (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-12-05.
7. Peco, Ramón (2013-02-15). "La artista censurada en ARCO cuando simbolizaba la muerte de España". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-12-05.
8. Tur, Antoni Ribas (2024-02-23). "Muere la artista Camila Cañeque a los 39 años". Ara en Castellano (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-12-05.
9. Tur, Antoni Ribas (2024-10-23). "Descubrir la obra de Camila Cañeque después de su muerte prematura". Ara en Castellano (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-12-05.
10. Tur, Antoni Ribas (2024-02-23). "Muere la artista Camila Cañeque a los 39 años". Ara en Castellano (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-12-05.
11. "Camila Cañeque: cuando la muerte da un sentido total a la obra". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
12. "'La última frase' de Camila Cañeque". Finestres (in Catalan). Retrieved 2024-12-05.
13. Sabaté, Jordi (2024-06-03). "'La última frase', el libro póstumo de Camila Cañeque que reivindica y reflexiona sobre el final de las cosas". ElDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-12-05.
14. Sabaté, Jordi (2024-03-11). "El legado de la fallecida Camila Cañeque, a la que expulsaron de ARCO por hacer una 'performance' sin permiso, vuelve a la feria". ElDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-12-05.