Bubi Canal’s Magic Garden Solo Show: A Journal of Realms In Between.

— Text by Jorge Clar, 2015

On the eve of the Ides of March—which was also π (Pi) Day, as Aaron pointed out later—Bubi’s second solo show opened at Munch Gallery. It was a momentous day, which I anticipated with great emotion, having witnessed the creation of many of the images from inception to completion. Like Bubi mentioned during a conversation we had after the show, the exhibit also functions as a diary of the life of imagination.

Bubi and I habitually meet during the week at Little Skips, the Bushwick café where we run internet errands and bounce ideas around. I had the honor of helping Bubi generate some of images for the show, by modeling or providing assistance, which gave me unique insight into the power of resourcefulness and ingenuity.

For the piece Lord, I wore a headband Bubi created for the character, with large beaded necklace and bracelets he strung in his trademark primary color wave. Moreover, he had me hold a baton with a plastic chicken on it, a sign of pure kismet, as chickens are so close and dear to my heart. 

In a day-to-day, organic fashion, Bubi gathers artifacts from his daily comings and goings and creates an archive from which he draws materials for his work. Last summer, many afternoons were spent taking photographs and filming video, with endless variations Bubi would later edit into final mix of the show.

The video Hologram went through various incarnations, and its characters were also photographed for portraits. For one session, we went to Flushing Meadows park on Madonna’s birthday to do some filming and stills, next to Philip Johnson’s New York Pavilion. Miuko, Idan, Bubi and I enjoyed an impromptu picnic with tortilla española and sandwiches, and we listened to music on a bluetooth Bose on a sunny day. 

As I saw the show, I remembered conversations where Bubi mentioned how he had created dioramas in the basement of his mother-in-law’s house, gathered plastic pieces and knit sweaters to remodel into sculpture, and also anecdotes, similar to the ones I have about favorite pieces of clothing, on how items he had collected from even years ago suddenly found a place in his ouevre.

In the end, the show is a story of the power of conviction and mentalism, of how keeping your desires in focus, within an atmosphere of generalized well-being, is fundamental to manifesting creativity and its end products. The world of dreams, for instance, can become concrete, teletransported from another dimension to the physical realm.

Speaking of serendipity, Abel and Idan had gifted me a sweater on my birthday that, upon first glance, was obviously meant for this opening. I wore the primary color waved creation with Vinti Andrews Eco-Jeans, Keith Haring SPRZ socks Scooter had also gifted me on my birthday, Adidas Jam Master Jay Ultrastar Superstar vintage sneakers, a bespoke necklace by Bubi, Alain Mikli/Philippe Starck Biocity frames and a Nadaam/Knickerbocker cashmere baseball cap customized with an insignia Bubi brought me from a flea market in Sicily.

Bubi was wearing a sweater of his own design, custom manufactured by his friend Senyor Pablo in Spain.

After the show, we all went to the El Nuevo Amanecer Mexican/Dominican restaurant to grab a bite. Ladyfag was having the afterparty for the show at Holy Mountain; we went to the super well-attended event late into the night, and even enjoyed a surprise concert by Crystal Waters.