Jorge de León (performance artist) (original) (raw)

Jorge de León (born 1976) is a Guatemalan performance artist who specializes in body art and art object. He was born in Guatemala City, and forms part of the post-war generation of artists that includes Regina José Galindo and Anibal López. His work is extremely influenced by his past as a gang-banger. Before he became an artist Jorge was in and out of jail twelve times, and now looked to art as a means of confronting the gang violence rampant in Guatemala. His work is extremely political and seeks to question the dynamics of power in one of the countries in Latin America that has been more affected by extreme inequality, violence, and political corruption.