Modernity has founded its myths on the basis of images identified as heroes. Men with a determined set to their jaw, firmly seated upon prancing horses, grace squares and avenues, larger-than-life monuments which are tributes to the past.
Romero chooses the equestrian monument to Carlos María de Alvear (created by Antoine Bourdelle in 1925) to implant a series of 60 ceramic horse heads on poles in the small triangular space at the foot of the monument. Reminiscent of the hobby horses we used to play with as children, they evoke cowboy films and medieval battles in countless historical narratives.
The simplicity of the work swiftly establishes a counterpoint between the monumental dimension proposed by Bourdelle, and Romero’s ironic, yet intimate nostalgia. The Mexican artist deconstructs not only the “cult of the monument” but also the “cult of the hero”, bringing down all these narratives in a frank invitation to rethink them from another point of view.
