Illx (Pablo Varona Borges) (he/him/they/them) is a Puerto Rican multidisciplinary puppeteer who recognizes the immeasurable value of discarded objects and how they can be reused, or recycled, to influence our trajectory towards a communal self-sufficiency. Whether is through storytelling, metal work and/or machine building, cardboard masks, streetlight performances, giant sculptures and/or musical instruments made with salvaged materials, Illx's striking aesthetics invite the curious minds to re-examine their relations with everyday objects. Before even considering an object to be "trash," Illx claims that re-using these "forgotten materials," might empower the artistic minds to act upon the ever-present climate-change "riddles" before is to late. He co-founded Junktown Duende, a puppeteers collective that facilitates workshops, around the United States, Puerto Rico and Mexico, with the purpose of displaying a community parade. And now, his latest project involves the restoration of a century old building in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico - Paseo13. Illx works as researcher, educator and artist on issues related to the management of solid waste, plastic material and the circular economy through the collaborative project of Plastikeres.
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Featured Image: Illx, Mascogoma. Mask. Courtesy of the artist.