Manila Animal

The thresholds of intimacy and violence negotiate on the brash surfaces of the sensual – no longer possessing the mien of nonchalance, rather an influx of references and imagery that preoccupy our daily experiences. As the boundaries of presence, of being one thing and another simultaneously expand beyond our person and shrink into our self, our sensualities are contaminated with interchanging gradient notions of possession (and to be possessed) as well as consumption (and to be consumed).

Superimposed on flat bold dimensions of color, Kiko Escora’s subjects occupy the space within these thresholds. Their expressions, gestures, and poses are explicitly arrested under a tacit vibe of pulsing unnerving energy. There are no abstractions, rather the manipulation of tones and the interplay of contours and flat silhouettes that situate them into the immediate. They are violently intimate in crossing the space between beholder and subject, and intimately violent in their visceral and unabashed domination of our vision.

Kiko Escora is a prolific artist, taking on different media and interests. He has done graphic design, fashion, metal sculptures, abstractions and other sorts of installation. A visionary steward of Promethean underground, he derives inspiration from music, history, design and architecture to disasters, dreams, loved ones and lovers.