Everyone thinks they have something important to say; what’s certain is that no one thinks it’s important. Social media spreads a delusion of protagonism and fosters hollow dialogues with ideas that must last less than ten seconds, because of the algorithm and I don’t know. No, thanks.
This collection of imaginary portraits is, simultaneously, an extended series of graphic expression and experimentation that began during the 2020 pandemic lockdown in a remote corner of southern Chile.
“Mister Sister” is the name given to every character portrayed; they all share this name.
Each Mister Sister is born from a moment charged with emotion. Some stem from searing pain; others, from rage. Some arose from euphoria, others from anguish, others from despair. Others were completed amidst the weariness of a heavy, drawn-out patience, while others took shape to the rhythm of a song played a thousand times in a row. It was always an intense exercise of pencil against paper, ensuring the strokes conveyed nothing contrary to what I was feeling.
The Mister Sisters do not intend to tell you anything. They do not come to offer an opinion, nor to hear or read yours. They carry no written message; they are not propaganda.
Yet, at the same time, they are highly expressive… They represent the expression of something intimate that is open to public view. What you see is a portrait, and you are free to imagine or interpret it however you wish. There is no contact, no dialogue.
The punk scene has fueled the continuation of this series far longer than I ever imagined. People have kept it alive over the years by incorporating it into their own projects; what began as emotions transformed into drawings has since become album covers, tour posters, maker logos, gig flyers, and t-shirt designs — a blend of diverse origins and concepts. Through all this, the Mister Sisters have mingled with “the culture” and reached the farthest corners of this planet.
Everything there is to know about Mister Sister lies within the boundaries of the drawing itself. Anything else I might say is beyond the point, so there it is for you to see for yourselves.
-MISTER SISTER for Dead Relatives.
