Javier Estupiñán

Javier Estupiñán (b.1990, Spain) is an audiovisual artist and producer from the Canary Islands. Since 2022, he has co-directed Vega de Agua, a project that he co-founded and in which he develops art residencies and other cultural projects focused on collective and multidisciplinary practices. Vega de Agua also promotes the need for new cultural centralities and provides more inclusive and safe(r) spaces.

In his recent work as an audiovisual artist, Javier Estupiñán challenges the relationships with physical territory and mental spaces within the context of the Canary Islands. Each piece draws inspiration from a myriad of cultural influences rooted in the plural identity of his archipelago.

He just finished the audiovisual piece REVERREVER (2024), that employs hybrid forms of language to construct a space in which the ghosts of the communities that were enslaved in the Canary Islands emerge, revealing open wounds and experiences that are enduring, regardless of whether society remembers them. His piece “Irreal” (2022) was selected in Canarias en Corto 2022 to represent his archipelago, and was shown at national and international festivals. “Migrar a una isla efímera” (2022), created using archive footage of the Canary Islands, and “With Time & Love Knowledge Grows” (2019), commissioned by Yermilov Center in Ukraine, comprise a list of works that delve into potential diverse pasts.

 EDUCATION

As an audiovisual artist, Javier Estupiñán has been mostly self-taught. Due to his background in Communication and Education (BA in Translation and Interpreting, Master in Teaching), his practice is also closely related to understanding art as a tool for self-directed learning, as well as a right for all individuals.

 SELECTED EXHIBITIONS / FILM FESTIVALS

as a curator 
2023   Retomando el centro (Retaking the Center), Canary Islands
2022   Beyond Myths: Reimagining Folk Tales, Canary Islands


as an artist
2022   Macaronesia Mítica at Walk&Talk Art Festival - via Archipel.eu, Azores
2022   Mestura, CCA GC - Audiovisual Culture Center of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
2019   Residents of Universe, Yermilov Center and Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine

film festivals
Mecal Pro Barcelona (Spain)
International Independent Film Festival of Villa de Leyva (Colombia)
BCT – Benevento Festival Nazionale Cinema e della Televisione (Italy)
Celaya Experimental Film Fest (Mexico)
ALC Videoart Festival (Spain)
Girona Film Festival (Spain)

Date of residency: 01.03.2024 – 30.04.2024