An argument for pleasure in the confusion of boundaries

After recovering from post-pandemic agoraphobia and becoming obsessed with post-apocalyptic science fiction, Juan Pablo Espínola presents his first collection in Antwerp. Espínola’s collection ‘I have no mouth and I must scream’ takes terror to the runway. 

Juan Pablo Espínola’s experience with agoraphobia started in Santiago, Chile. Like many of us during the pandemic, he developed a fear of going outside. The lockdowns in Chile had begun months before the pandemic surged, triggered by the widespread political protests that had gripped the entire nation. On October 20, 2019 the conservative president declared a state of emergency, deploying military troops onto the streets and imposing an evening curfew on civilians. This marked the first time the military had been deployed since the Pinochet dictatorship. It was also the first time young Chileans, like Espínola, would bear witness to uniformed military personnel occupying private metropolitan spaces. 

The protests led to a pivotal constitutional referendum. Despite initial momentum, in the final vote, the popular majority rejected a novel and inclusive constitution. This failed referendum indicated that the economic and political ideologies set in 1970s were not receding as expected but were gathering renewed popularity. At this time many Chileans were suffocating under the pressure of a political regime repeating a pattern of oppression. 

After almost four years in lockdown, Espínola endured a personal suffocation—the disturbing visions closing in on him. Subsequently, he turned to post-apocalyptic science fiction, a fitting escape for the times. Then, in June 2023, Espínola completed his collection ‘I have no mouth and I must scream.’ The collection incorporates layers and layers of textiles and materials, physically bogging down the wearer. The smothering sensation overclouding the collection is overt and immediately striking. Inspired by social unrest and the rapid development of technology, the pieces are an attestation of humanity’s limitless ability to navigate uncharted territory.

Within the collection, the apprehension of the socio-political moment manifests as a motif of asphyxiation. Tight neck guards either lock the neck in place or completely mask the models’ faces. With dark hues the tone is serious, eerie. The seams look like mechanical welding joints, fused at high temperatures. The sewn lines conjure images of metal or thermoplastics. The mechanical references extend to the collection’s accessories, most notable are the thick intrusive buttons that mimic screws. Thematically, the collection forges a connection between organic and artificial matter, concretising our evolving relationship to the machine. 

Evoking a Harawayan cyborg figure, sharp, angular and edgy silhouettes extend beyond human form. Super-human prostheses are alluded to in sleeves and leg cuffs, which evoke the mechanic forms of robots. Soft leathers and neoprene soften the collection’s industrial veneer while earthy browns are intertwined with metallic silvers. The demarcation between machine-appearing and human-made materials becomes hazy in this tension. We are invited to envision a present where that delineation is not a precipice of anxiety but a threshold of potential.

talent ALENA SILCHENKO
special thanks STUDIO 63