The fake hunting trophies, also made from plastic, which carry the signature of the author, form part of the same approach – unless this is an allusion to the expression ¡ cabrón !, the translation of which varies considerably depending on the context. Still in relation to the Happily Ever After series, Carlos Aires took lingering photographs at night of parks known as meeting places for the gay community. The result is a complete transfiguration of these places regarded as sordid by some and as the setting for fantasy films by all.

Based on the observation that there are always several visible realities, Carlos Aires wondered about the way in which those born blind can perceive them. First he produced a compilation of very short videos all linked by the theme of death or war. Some come from the Internet, placed online almost illegally by the direct protagonists – such as the images filmed by American soldiers in Iraq. But Carlos Aires has blurred them to the extent that they are almost indescribable to those who can see: hence the title Cataract. In the final version, these sequences are peppered with comments by people born blind who deliver their experiences of death and violence or, rather, the “image” they have of this.


The panel paintings using goldleaf, like contemporary icons on triplex, are more complex in terms of their relationship to the net. The images are drawn from Internet chatrooms where each person can hide behind whatever name he wishes: his dog or the disguise of Captain America. Carlos Aires adds an audio comment to each painting, the one incorporated by the user into the web page. The result is a constellation of strangers on the wall: a golden monument to solitude and virtual encounters.

[...]With, all the same, a happy ending (in this case, a happy beginning): while Mister Hyde I, shot in infrared, combines very ambiguously images of backrooms and very familiar views of fairground stalls (like those in a horror film), Mister Hyde III consists of slow-motion scenes of reunions at an airport: filmed very close-up, the protagonists do not notice at any time the camera filming them – or perhaps in the midst of their emotion, in one of the few public places where this kind of thing is still accepted, they choose not to see it?
- Pierre-Yves Desaive


- Untitled (from the series Happily Ever After)
“Wolf” Kid, Mexico – 2007, 125 x 125 cm – ed. 1/6
Lambda print on aluminium and mat protection layer, black wooden frame

- Love is in the Air (gold edition), 2007
variable dimensions – ed. 2 (one individual and one as installation), silkscreen on wood and gold leaf – loudspeakers and sound circuit

- Cruising I, Public “cruising park” where homosexuals and prostitutes have sex. StadPark, Antwerp, Belgium – 2007, 125 x 125 cm (framed) ed. 1/6. Lambda print on aluminium and matt protection layer. black wooden frame