Carlos Martiel

Martiel’s work is characterized as endurance art. His artistic practice uses his own body to draw attention to the embodied experience of Blackness under systems of violence and exploitation worldwide. In his performances, Martiel frequently put himself into challenging situations like piercing his skin with a miniature flagpole flying an American flag, having a pest exterminator spray his body with insecticide, or having a piece of his skin surgically removed and preserved in a gold medal. Thematically, his works explore racism, gender, immigration, and the legacy of European colonialism in the USA.

HOW DOES YOUR SUBMITTED WORK RESPOND TO THE CIRCA 20:25 MANIFESTO?
As human beings, we act like angels of death, destroying ancestral knowledge, ecological niches, and extinguishing species, and also perpetuating poverty, discrimination, and genocide around the world. We have been tyrannized in the name of a global economy that benefits only a handful of people whose purpose in life is to spill rivers of blood, turn existence into a valley of tears, and transform natural paradises into arid deserts. Most current Rulers must be removed from political positions and stripped of their power to see if we can survive as a species before it is too late.

IF AWARDED THE £30,000 CIRCA PRIZE, WHAT 10-MINUTE WORK WOULD YOU CREATE – AND HOW WOULD IT EMBODY THE SPIRIT OF REFUGIA?
For the new commission, I will create a video performance titled “Poder Absoluto”, which explores the relationship between body, objectification, and process. This piece constitutes a critical response from the resistance to the challenging times we are all living in around the world under autocratic, militarized, and despotic governments. This video performance includes the participants of immigrants, people of African descent, Latinos, Women, Muslims, members of the LGBTQIA community, and First Nations, among others. Bodies that are considered minorities and historically marginalized and oppressed in the United States and Europe.

FOLLOW CARLOS MARTIEL ON INSTAGRAM

Funding for the CIRCA PRIZE is generated entirely by the #CIRCAECONOMY, a circular model that reinvests proceeds from affordable art sold on CIRCA.ART into new public art commissions, charitable causes, art education and prizes. Since launching in 2020, the initiative has raised over £1 Million, placing artists and communities at the centre of an economy that continually reinvests in the future of art and culture.

The CIRCA PRIZE 2025 winners will be revealed LIVE in Piccadilly Circus on Monday 13 October, with a special 30-minute award ceremony starting at 20:00 BST. Don’t miss it!