Honourable Mention

Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2025

Arturo Brena

Title:

“Lamento Ustible (Flammable Wail)”

Medium & Dimensions:

Mixed media: ceramic resin, plaster, lamp, 77 x 35 x 38 cm

About the Artist

Arturo Brena is a Mexican-born, New York-based sculptor, visual artist, and creative technologist renowned for his innovative “dual sculptures”. Brena is also an accomplished director in the field of digital animation and has been awarded with two EMMYs for innovation within the entertainment industry. Brena’s signature art form—dual sculptures—embodies the concept of duality. These pieces consist of intricately crafted physical sculptures that, when illuminated, cast shadows forming entirely different images. This technique invites viewers to consider the coexistence of light and darkness, presence and absence. As Brena explains, “We only see light bouncing; objects remain unchanged in darkness”. He currently resides in New York city and has worked in Mexico, Germany, Greece among other countries giving him a multicultural approach to in his creative work.

“Lamento Ustible (Flammable Wail)”: explores the erosion of freedom of speech in modern society. At its core is the image of a female face (untainted essence of the human spirit) silenced by genderless hands —a collective complicity: voices that speak of truth, justice and identity are subdued by societal norms, political agendas, and fear of dissent. In one hand is a limp pigeon, the emblem of peace and liberty, now lifeless, marking the death of free expression. When light is cast upon the sculpture. Its shadow unveils two silhouettes with fists defiantly raised. Symbolizing that when voices are extinguished, resistance will ignite. A mirror invites the viewer to confront their own role: Are you a witness? A participant? The sculpture forces a reckoning: freedom of speech is a fragile, flammable force.