Studio Lenca

A deeper look at Studio Lenca’s solo exhibition at EDJI Gallery: A journey through identity, displacement, and belonging

This spring, EDJI Gallery presents a three-part exhibition by Salvadoran artist Studio Lenca, exploring themes of migration, identity, and resilience. During his residency with EDJI in Brussels, Studio Lenca collaborated with the local Salvadoran immigrant community to create works and installations that address displacement, cultural heritage, and self-discovery. The exhibition includes a main gallery of paintings, a short film shot in Brussels, and a flower installation—each piece connected to Studio Lenca’s experience as a previously undocumented Latino in the USA.

Part 1: Installation

‘The men sat in the living room. The women sat in the kitchen. I arranged flowers’, 2023. Installation (beer bottles and red carnations)

Titled The men sat in the living room. The women sat in the kitchen. I arranged flowers (2023), the flower installation reflects Studio Lenca’s upbringing in a traditional, gendered Salvadoran household. Beer bottles filled with red carnations recreate the artist’s memories of family gatherings, where a space was divided by tradition: men in the living room watching soccer, women in the kitchen crafting traditional Salvadoran dishes.

Studio Lenca recalls the separation between these rooms—a place of male camaraderie paired with female industriousness. The installation represents the artist’s childhood discomfort and search for self-expression in a space where he did not feel fully accepted. Red carnations, symbolic of Salvadoran culture, function as a medium for Lenca to revisit these memories. Recalling his mother’s term “inventos” (inventions) for his imaginative escape, he brings fragments of home into the gallery, connecting past and present.

‘The commentary from a Chivas soccer match booming from the TV competing with cumbias in the kitchen. A place for uncles drinking beer. A place for aunties crafting tamales chicharron and Pupusas. My home was a binary place. Growing up I was forced to play soccer, to sit with the men and inhabit an uncomfortable place. My imagination was the refuge. Listening to Selena, I would draw, paint, dance, and sculpt with what I could find in a space that felt desolate. This work revisits what my mom used to call my ‘inventos’. – Studio Lenca

Part 2: Canvas

'Angel sin Cielo' 2023. Oil & acrylic on canvas.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a series of 15 paintings, two of which were created in Brussels, including a collaboration with Blonde, a local Salvadoran immigrant, titled Angel sin Cielo (2023). This painting brings together conversations Studio Lenca shared with his co-creator, Blonde, about displacement, queer Salvadoran identity, and the struggle for visibility.

Angel sin Cielo (Angel without Heaven) depicts an angel dressed in bright colors, challenging traditional representations in art history, which often exclude marginalized voices. Created through dialogue on personal stories and folklore, the work emphasizes the importance of visibility and reclaiming space for Salvadoran identities. In joining their voices on canvas, the artists present a history of dislocation as a statement of presence and visibility. The angel, adorned in vivid colors, represents resilience and solidarity—a witness to untold stories.

Part 3: Projection

‘I’m becoming my own home’, 2023. Projected digital video

The third part of the exhibition is a five-minute video projected on the gallery’s lower floor. Titled I’m becoming my own home (2023), this video captures Blonde, the immigrant collaborator, dancing on Brussels’ Grand Place. The scene is set against the architecture of colonial buildings while Blonde moves to techno beats that only he can hear. In this setting, Blonde occupies the space with his energy, countering the surrounding architecture. Through his dance, he redefines traditional norms of public space, bending rules and expectations as he visibly occupies this landmark on his terms. The video examines the shift when an individual’s sense of home becomes internalized rather than tied to any geographic location. Blonde’s journey, from a politically unstable El Salvador to Brussels, addresses the idea of finding belonging, now expressed in his movement and his presence. The title I’m becoming my own home comes from a conversation between Blonde and Studio Lenca, summarizing a sentiment familiar to those who navigate multiple worlds and identities. Blonde’s dance serves as an expression of self-assurance amid uncertainty, presenting a Salvadoran identity in a space traditionally constructed to reflect European history and power.