Cry me a river, 2016

Nothing in this video artwork by conceptual artist Marcos Chaves (1961, Brazil) is as it appears to be, and that is entirely the point. What at first seems to be a weeping face, especially when considered in conjunction with the title – ‘Cry me a River’ - is in fact the outlet valve of a swimming pool. This work is typical of Chaves’ creative process in which banal objects that would normally go unnoticed are combined with semantically confusing titles and given new meaning involving irony and humor. “I don’t need to represent reality in images,” says Chaves, “reality is there and all I do is appropriate it and bring it into the arts.” Chaves’ work reminds us that there is beauty and humor in the commonplace. We need only to remember to look.