Welcome to the Terror-filled World of DOS DIABLOS
Hailing from Guadalajara, Mexico, Dos Diablos is an artist who taps into the fears that have haunted our society for thousands of years. Drawing on these irrational anxieties and fusing them with an aesthetic that draws inspiration from Christian iconography, Dos Diablos’ work is a chilling reminder of the power of demonic forces.
Using his preferred technique of oil paints, his work is a throwback to the wonders of taking ones time to perfect a craft. The texture of his brushstrokes evokes a physicality to his work that could only be achieved through this specific medium.
The origins of his subjects, demonic creatures and mutated humanoids, lie in the psyche of this unique artist, exploring the deep subconscious mind and reflecting on ones own identity, a task that few of us wish to undergo.
This self-introspective and novel approach has resulted in him working on projects that vary in style. From movie posters to magazines and newspaper features and the fine art world, Dos Diablos is ever forging new grounds.
The GATA team took some time to get to know this mysterious painter, touching on topics such as the supernatural and irrationality, the magic of Japanese movie posters and even the empathy one can feel with the Alien creatures from the movies of Ridley Scott.
Welcome to the terror-filled world of Dos Diablos.
GATA: Hello Dos Diablos, could you please introduce yourself to the GATA family?
DD: I´m Jorge, I´m a traditional painter.
GATA: Is Dos Diablos your family name? Could you tell us a little bit about the origin of your name?
DD: I was just looking for a funnier name to sign my paintings, cause my personal name is boring. I was inspired mainly by the Mexican "Loteria" game (a kind of bingo), the card number "2" which is the "Diablito", which I really like the design of, and I took the name, card number 2 + devil = 2 devils.
GATA: How did the pandemic influence your work/daily routines?
At first, I thought there were going to be many changes, but due to the way I work, nothing has changed at all. The only thing I miss are the exhibitions, where I had the opportunity to see my friends and meet people.
GATA: Is painting your main way of expression? How did you get into it?
Until now painting has been the medium that has worked the most for me to express the ideas and concerns that I have. Sometimes I make rough small sculptures just for reference of light and shadow, but sculpture is something I would like to work on in the future.
“Inspiration can come from watching a movie, or even from a branch thrown in the street, there are always potential ideas that surround us, we must pay attention and open our eyes to our surroundings.”
GATA: Oil paints seem to be your go-to technique; what makes oil so unique? Have you considered using more digital methods in the future?
The oils are incredible, it is a wonderful substance. Of course, it is very difficult to interact with oils, but after many attempts and mistakes you begin to understand them, but it is something that can take you a lifetime. I have been working doing digital illustration for more than 7 years, and it is something that I wouldn’t like to do again, in fact, that was the reason why I started working with oils, I was already tired of working in digital. Sometimes, I use it just for practical purposes, such as fixing a composition.
GATA: Your creatures are very varied, having very diverse physiques from each other. Where do your inspirations come from to create so many of them?
Inspiration can come from watching a movie, or even from a branch thrown in the street, there are always potential ideas that surround us, we must pay attention and open our eyes to our surroundings.
“I come from a Catholic family and environment, I have always been interested in religious anthropology, they are very strong images, and that was what led me to make several interpretations of nuns and religious characters.”
GATA: Could you tell us a little bit about the characters you paint? You mentioned that you don’t like to call them monsters, how would you describe them, and where do they come from?
I would not know how to describe them, I don't name them, it is something that is there, something that inhabits the surfaces that I paint. I don't know exactly where most of them come from, but after a while, I realize that some are states of mind of that moment, but there are others that I don't know where they come from, they only appear.
GATA: Do you have any kind of ritual when painting? Any background music you like to listen to?
I do not have rituals, I just put colours on the palette and I start, sometimes with an idea and others just let something appear. I usually listen to podcasts about art, cinema, science or politics.
GATA: In your drawings we sometimes find priests, nuns, let's say some religious influence. Could you tell us your religious upbringing?
I come from a Catholic family and environment, I have always been interested in religious anthropology, they are very strong images, and that was what led me to make several interpretations of nuns and religious characters. Last year, I paid tribute to those images that I remember as a child, it was a collection of paintings in the gallery "La Luz de Jesus", it was called "Eulogy to the Enemy", it was a way to close that theme with which I spent many years working on. I felt like I was not getting anywhere, I had already painted everything that I had to paint on that subject.
GATA: We have heard that you like reading Junji Ito, the legendary Japanese mangaka. Do you have any other connection with Japanese art, or is there something else you are interested in from Japan?
One of the things that I like the most in visual art are narratives, in the manga I have found one of the most beautiful and original narratives, especially in Junji Ito's work, but I also really enjoy O. Tezuka's classic work, Shigeru Mizuki ... I love the great Kurosawa's work, incredible! But one of the things that I love and admire the most about Japan is its movie posters, first of all, because of the beauty of the writing system, which are symbols out of this world, and because of the compositions of the images within the posters.
I mention this because (these days) the viewer is used to receiving a lot of information regarding the images of the film, too many colours, it is baroque, a lot of visual noise used to attract attention. But I have seen many Japanese posters that for me, enter into fine art.
“Believing in demons is the same as believing in gods, angels, and all religious mythology. It is very interesting to see these creatures that have been invented over a long time, and studying them a little you realise the fears of the people at that time, their concerns and sometimes their mental delusions. The problem is that these evils have spread and been believed for thousands of years. There are many people who continue to believe in demons and blame them (even today) when they don’t realise that many of these demons are themselves. ”
GATA: Some of your work has a supernatural quality, strange creatures that exist outside the normal world, have you ever experienced anything supernatural in your own life?
No, I am very sceptical, I put more emphasis on mental illnesses, which can take us to other places and see different things that we do not understand and which are named as supernatural experiences. The brain is something incredible, it can take you very far or take you into a labyrinth with no way out.
GATA: In particular, do you believe that demons exist?
No, definitely not. Believing in demons is the same as believing in gods, angels, and all religious mythology. It is very interesting to see these creatures that have been invented over a long time, and studying them a little you realise the fears of the people at that time, their concerns and sometimes their mental delusions. The problem is that these evils have spread and been believed for thousands of years. There are many people who continue to believe in demons and blame them (even today) when they don’t realise that many of these demons are themselves.
GATA: Could you tell us three of your favourite films, is there one that has influenced your work or career in some way?
Psycho from Alfred Hitchcock, Ridley Scott’s Alien and Taxidermy by György Pálfi, just to name a few. But Alien was the one that most struck me at the beginning when I wanted to start painting. Sure, Giger's xenomorph work is sublime, but what struck me the most was the way the xenomorph is treated throughout the movie because in a way I felt like him.
I understood him, that was his nature and not being part of the common "nature", they used it and tried to hunt it, and in the end, as it was not part of normality by not entering its environment, they eliminated it, expelled it.
That's why I identify with the xenomorph, a great inspiration for freaks like me.
