Born in South Argyllshire at the beginning of the 1960s, his personality is a debate between his Spanish and British ancestries. After graduating in Fine Arts, he began his learning process on techniques and materials early and a long succession of specialised monographic courses, including taxidermy, laid down a sound artistic training that he has always combined with extensive theory gained from courses, conferences, seminars and any other opportunity arising during his lengthy training process.

For a long time, he decided against exhibiting his work and devoted all his energy to observing and analysing the many international trends in contemporary art that were interrelated with human attitudes. This period represented a time of intense intellectual activity that involved an endless array of critical writing for a variety of European art magazines, exhibitions and training courses given in various universities. Fundamentally, he dedicated his efforts to constructing a series of concepts which, after many years of experimentation, materialised in a conceptual language based on the criticism of modern man's social attitudes.

The medium used in his works is based on an absolutely real imagination that is loyal to its theoretical content, where sculpture and taxidermy techniques are used to present animals and objects that protagonise the questions asked of a number of human attitudes, placing doubt on the real meaning of the adjective human and presenting spectators with the eternal doubt about the term humanity. Is it really a descriptive characteristic of human beings or, on the contrary, is it more frequently found in those beings we mistakenly refer to as 'irrational animals'?

Carlos Revenga provokes spectators, attributing human attitudes to certain animals, common attitudes in today's society which, when taken out of context and awarded to these irrational beings(?) completely change the structure of the message of traditional logic. On occasions, it is interpreted as a sharp parody of everyday situations; on others, it is a painful call to attention regarding the cruelty the human being is capable of inflicting on everything that surrounds him. After being interpreted by animals lacking in that capacity, the situations stir up a sensation of opposite feelings and emotions, without overlooking the fact that the true protagonist is man and his circumstances, even though they are presented through a staged parody by other types of animals, perhaps much less irrational than we might believe.

The piece Pet for dangerous times, where a tremendous African lion shows attitudes more typical of a dog, eating from a metal dish similar to those used by dogs, with a bone and the odd toy on the floor, speaks to us of fury, of brute force, of violence. But do not fall into the trap; the piece does not refer to the lion, but rather to man, to the human being who has to resort to the greatest force in animal nature to defend himself from other human(?) beings. A brief look at the latest statistics on violence, theft, rape, kidnapping and murder in our country over the last six months will suffice. Who, in their right mind, would feel protected in their home with a mere dog as a pet and protection? However, a few days ago, the Spanish Minister of the Interior was quoted in the national press as saying that crime rates had fallen by so many percent.

In this exhibition, the artist often speaks of cruelty between men; he speaks of fear, of man's insecurity caused by the threat of man, of lies, of the way man manipulates reality and his own nature. The lion is only the medium that makes us think about man. Do not be tempted to see it as an anecdote, as entertainment thanks to the spectacular nature of its anatomy, perhaps as something that impresses due to its unusual proximity. The African lion is there to make us think, for us to see our own nature reflected in it.

Carlos Revenga does not seek to proclaim himself as a judge of anything. Many of his works do not even reflect his opinion of the events in question. He simply proposes real situations for which he uses any object or animal within his reach. He tells us a story, but he leaves the door of interpretation wide open. It is our absolute responsibility to read what we choose of his works, as well as the feelings they might evoke. We can stop at the surface level of the story or we can delve inside. In any case, the experience is worth it and if we draw any conclusion that makes us a little more human, then we will be part of a renewed phenomenon of those first premises that led to the works of art that were created in other times, some of which are now very distant in the past, when one man used art to tell other men of his concerns, fears and desires or simply what had happened the day before.

Always based on situations as real as those which occur every day at any time and in any place, the development of the images the artist proposes requires technical exquisiteness taken to its maximum expression. As a result, Carlos Revenga occasionally resorts to a team of collaborators who are specialists in taxidermy to make his pieces as real as possible. Indeed, what the artist offers is the idea, the concept rather than a certain virtuosity that could distract us from the real message he wants to transmit. However, the plastic execution of his works comes close to a technical perfection for which, if necessary, he uses resources that range from the pure concept of the ready-made to the collaboration of the best specialists for each of his projects.

The iconography of his pieces is not unknown to the spectator. Aesop’s ancient fables and those of so many other writers and philosophers from ancient times to modern day, gave animals those supposedly 'human' characteristics which, in this case, are showing the very opposite: the dehumanisation of man interpreted by animals that would not easily fall to such levels of dehumanisation according to their very morphology. His interpretation should not be understood as a caricature of human attitudes; it is much more dramatic, it is a fierce criticism of the constant attitudes man shows on a daily basis in a slow but unstoppable journey towards his own dehumanisation.

The artist's real anguish, which speaks of the present, can be found a little further in: how will all this end? Carlos Revenga tells us of his greatest concern: the future, an uncertain future where the values of the human being are no longer, a future he tries to change through his images of a present in which the outcome can still be changed. It is not a pessimistic view of what is yet to come; it is, in fact, an objective description of how far down the line we have travelled.

His criticism also points at the different circles of power, from a monarchy that is void of any genuine contact with reality to political representatives who ignore the real needs of the people by whom they are maintained, including the gradual deterioration of nature, cruelty to animals, festivals and celebrations where the torture of living beings still constitutes the entertainment of a people that, not very long ago, gathered in the main squares to enjoy the executions of their neighbours. The finger also points at the general abuse of everything that surrounds us, beginning with our fellow men, the absurd, out-of-proportion use of the resources that will condemn future generations to an unimaginable future and all the cruelty we ignore: how can we allow thousands of children to die from hunger and disease when they could survive easily with what the lucky inhabitants of the wrongly called 'developed countries' throw away every day?

Many of you will not enjoy the public exhibition of your own consciences. No one likes to be tapped on the shoulder and hear the words, "you are also responsible", "you abandoned a dog on the roadside years ago because it was no longer a playful pup your son played with". Do you know what happened after that? After several days of wandering around lost near the road where you left it without any food or water, trying to understand (do not doubt that dogs can understand) why you had left it there alone, without its blanket, without its friend, with nothing to eat, trying to get back to its home, when, exhausted, dehydrated and with no strength left, it finally understood what was happening, it didn't hesitate to throw itself under the wheels of the first car that drove past and that clean look of gratitude became a bloody mess of flesh and bones. However, for your son's enjoyment, that best friend was conveniently replaced by the latest mobile telephone to appear on the market.

Those are the stories this artist is going to tell you, an artist who declines interviews, photographs, tributes or publicity other than that which his own stories are capable of telling. On his own decision, he does not attend his opening ceremonies, or, if he does, he does so anonymously. He would not like to gain popularity by exploiting the most miserable features of our society, our world, of everything that surrounds us and that we do nothing to prevent. That's why you will not see his face or find him posing before one of his pieces on the pages of a magazine or newspaper. That's how he wants it to be.

In short, there is little left to say, a little polyester resin, some paints, synthetic hair, fur and feathers, plaster, latex, wood, metal and a few everyday objects to awaken your consciences. Spectacular pieces to condemn events that are equally spectacular. We still have time to understand and act. As human beings, we have no right to stop being human. What for? Why? If you can, enjoy it. The show must go on and if, when you get home, you only remember how well-made all those animals were, have a little think. They weren't actually made for your entertainment; they were created to make you feel.