WATCH: Artist Conversation with Matías Sauter-Morera

Join us for an online conversation where Matías Sauter-Morera discusses his new work, Pegamachos using Artificial Intelligence to create a virtual narrative.

"Pegamachos" delves into the intriguing clandestine concept of heterosexual men in Costa Rica, especially during the 1970s, who engaged in occasional homosexual encounters without altering their sexual identity as heterosexuals. The term, stemming from a legend passed down within the gay community, describes men, often from rural areas, who maintained their conventional masculinity and heterosexuality despite participating in discreet encounters with other men.

Inspired by these stories and by his fantasies of having a romance with a Pegamachos, the artist uses artificial intelligence to generate provocative and homoerotic images, and to create a visual narrative around characters and behaviors known only through oral accounts. As the artist crafts stories and explores themes, 'Pegamachos' becomes a vehicle for constructing a fictional and fantastical historical archive, offering an imaginative view of the gay men and 'pegamachos' community in Costa Rica during a socially conservative era, emphasizing rurality.