Jhafis Quintero

Influenced by his experience in prison and as a Panamanian living in Europe, Jhafis Quintero makes paintings, videos, and performances driven by the physical and psychological struggles induced by isolation. During a 10-year incarceration in Costa Rica, he began making work focused on the dynamics of survival—namely, salvation through expression and interaction. In 2013, he represented Panama at the Venice Biennale with the performance Protesis (2013), in which he gave original drawings to viewers as a means of communicating with them. The project was inspired by the surreptitious passing of notes in prison as a way to maintain privacy, social interaction, and a sense of self. “With this project, I was not looking for attention based on the mere fact or the exoticism that this method was originated in prison,” explained Quintero, “but it was my aim to facilitate communication through creativity.”