There has been a murder, and the murderer is still in the room. In fact, they’re hanging on the wall. All 25 suspects in this mystery are framed in portraits created by Ito Briones in an interactive exhibit opening at the Art League Wednesday, Aug. 8, and running through Sept. 2, entitled A Murder in Bruges: Cast of Characters.
Briones, who has a Ph.D. in cell biology and biochemistry is transitioning into a full-time art career, didn’t know he was creating a murder mystery when he first submitted his exhibit to The Art League. “The original idea was really portraits and then the title was Lost in Thought,” he explains. “I wanted the viewer to look at the painting, the portrait, and then to imagine what they are thinking.”
While doing research on another project, he came across a 1961 issue of Life magazine with a promotion for a Dick Powell Theatre episode, “Who Killed Julie Greer?” With photos of Ronald Reagan, Lloyd Bridges and others listed as potential suspects, Briones became inspired. A murder motive would be a fantastic way for people to contemplate the thoughts behind his portraits. However, by the time he came up with this idea, Briones had already finished about three-fourths of the portraits for his exhibit.
Fortunately, having also earned a master’s in creative writing from Boston University, penning a story to go along with the paintings wasn’t out of his comfort zone. But that doesn’t mean it was easy.
“I love murder mysteries, but I’ve actually never written one,” Briones confesses. To top it off, he had to fit the story to the work he already completed. “There was so much back and forth because I would look back at the collection, the portraits, and see items in there like the ruby necklace or whatever, a hat, a glove, a jacket that I can use for the story as part of a clue. … I had to be constrained within narrow details already present in the exhibit.”
Another challenge was just how people will experience the mystery. Unlike a story, Briones explains that there won’t be any set plot for patrons to take, they can go wherever they want and put the pieces together in any order they discover them. “They approach the murder as if it’s an actual murder … you’re the one searching,” he says.
Neither The Art League nor Briones can recall an exhibit quite like this one. “I have to admit, it’s a gimmick,” Briones says. He understands that his work may not be on the level of professional painters, but then again he isn’t looking to portray a rich, dramatic insight with this exhibit.
“This is a murder mystery movie where you come in, you enjoy the movie and you come out and you’re still thinking about it, but enjoying it,” he says. “If [the viewers] do experience that sense of entertainment, I think I’m successful enough with this experiment.”
Briones has certainly been entertained by the process. He is already working on two more interactive art galleries, one displaying sci-fi works and another portraying World War II figures.
Just remember one thing when you’re examining the portraits: as Briones says, “Anyone can be a killer.”
