Cuando el depredador está lejos: los pájaros cantan (When the predator is far away: the birds sing)

Maureen Paley is pleased to present a new exhibition by Daniel Correa Mejía, who was born in Medellin, Colombia and lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Following his inclusion in the group exhibition outer view, inner world (2023) held at Morena di Luna, Hove, last summer, this will be his first solo exhibition with the gallery, presented at Studio M in Shoreditch London.

Correa Mejía uses vivid colours to crystallise a dreamlike world of unfamiliar landscapes and celestial bodies. His highly symbolic figures personify existential concerns, uncovering collective knowledge and visualising a return to the primal fact of existence. Whilst centred on the universal, his practice equally threads through a personal exploration of his own identity, using the naked body to connect viewers to his sense of vulnerability as a queer person. Correa Mejía presents these nude bodies as exuberant, spiritually harmonious beings that suppress notions of a singular identity and find empowerment in a universal connection to nature. Adopting a limited palette of ultramarine and red oil paint that is applied on jute, he summons the divine power of contrasting yet complementary forces.

“Living beings feel danger when they detect a nearby predator. They become still, they become invisible, and they hide their radiantly beautiful essence to protect their life. Humans are no longer considered animal predators, yet many in our species have become cruel predators that are afraid of allowing diversity to flourish organically between us.

Painting is a ritual that allows me to connect to the wholeness of life. When painting I find calm in solitude, but I also find companionship in other living beings; the animal and vegetable. The elemental beings act as allies, extensions, and reflections of myself. They become symbols that help me navigate the path of life embracing existential questions about identity, gender, sexuality, loss, and grief that emerge. The new moon brings renovation, and femininity, and guides life’s rhythms. Flowers act as healers which help make us return to unity. Seeds appear as symbols for fertility whilst the feather signifies transformation and the freedom to fly beyond our skin.

I identify queerness in the dolphin, a wise being of the water that returns to the surface to breathe, an action tied to gender fluidity and border diffusion. The armadillo is a symbol of the inner child being protected within me, shielding themselves with their armour. Butterflies emerge from their chrysalis and accept change with their wings open. These beings are watched over by the generous tree that gives air, shelter, and food.” – Daniel Correa Mejía, 2024.