Avelino Sala (Gijón, 1972) is a reference of socially engaged art in Spain. Artist, curator and editor of the magazine Sublime, his work has a great international projection. He works with the art galleries ADN in Barcelona and Ethan Cohen in New York, attending international fairs and participating in art biennials such as BienalSur or the extension to the 51st Venice Biennial. For Biotopías 2, Sala presents “S.O.S. (paddle out)”, a participatory performance with surfers from the island. Paddle out is a ritual of the surf culture that takes place in the water. It is a memorial service, a tribute with surfers getting into a circular formation representing the union between people and the ocean. With his “paddle out” Sala (who is also a surfer) aims to celebrate a symbolic funeral of the ocean in which he changes the geometry of the circle for the word: the call for help S O S. The performance will be recorded at Las Canteras beach and can be seen later in Parque Doramas, on a large screen placed at the back of the Hotel Santa Catalina. Additionally, the digital version of the work will allow surfing through links that provide solutions to the serious environmental problems facing our seas.
