At Ruth Benzacar, Dillom presented his book inspired by 'Por Cesárea', with a work by Eduardo Basualdo

A journey into the deep darkness of the mind. This is how Por Cesárea, El Libro (Por Cesárea, The Book) , recently presented at the Ruth Benzacar gallery and set to go on sale online in the coming days, can be interpreted. It is the first work in Argentina to translate and expand the narrative universe of an album into an editorial and artistic format. Conceived by Dillom 's creative director, Andrés Capasso, the book brings together the work of more than 40 professionals, including the renowned Eduardo Basualdo , and functions as a conceptual expansion of the musician's latest album.

“The book adds new nuances to the story, new hues and textures to the personality and universe of this character,” Dillom tells Clarín , referring to the tormented protagonist of his sound fiction.

“Here, there's more emphasis on the aspect that has to do with entering and exiting darkness, with feeling comfortable within the darkness, and from nothingness emerging into something brighter and feeling uncomfortable. That back and forth was beautifully captured. Eduardo embraced the collaboration, and it makes us completely proud,” he notes, referring to the visual artist's participation with a stunning, rocky, darker-than-black sculpture in which the singer appears literally immersed.

With editorial design by Ezequiel Cafaro, opening this limited edition book requires breaking a placenta. Its spine is sewn with visible threads as a nod to the "Cesarean section," and a kombucha skin peels off, playing with the idea of ​​torn skin , in keeping with an album filled with trauma, paranoia, blood, and dark clouds. "All of this marks the close of this era, an end to move on to the next page," suggests the singer.

Basualdo's work is part of the photographic journey of Capasso —also known as Noduerm0, an artist and one of the founders of the Bohemian Groove label—in a unique production. The sculptor was inspired by the project through the idea of ​​Ailín Staicos and Victoria Tolomei, the editors of the material.

“ We're interested in breaking down the boundaries between disciplines , delivering a more holistic and complete experience. Andy Capasso approached us with the idea for the book, and we saw an opportunity for that blurring: we found that the work of Edu, Dillom, and Andy over the last few years all spoke more or less the same theme,” Staicos remarks.

In Basualdo's work, which has already been exhibited in biennials around the world, such as Venice, Gwangju, Lyon, Mercosur and Pontevedra , the viewer is captivated by imposing images that tense between danger and curiosity.

In addition to this commonality with the Dillom universe , both works replicate a certain cinematic aspect, of narrative in time, and the unsettling expectation of an outcome that never arrives. This is amalgamated on the album, for example, when Dillom sings about those darknesses that prevail, even though they no longer frighten.

"The character's ego in this book grows faster than he enters that dark house, which he ultimately breaks. We're a mixture of black and white, that's what's fun about the book," Capasso emphasizes.

This isn't the first time Dillom has worked with local visual artists , and has transferred his sonic creations to other forms of expression: the iconic cover of Post Mortem , his debut album, which positioned him as one of the most relevant musicians of recent times, is the work of Marcelo Canevari and Ornella Pocetti. To this day, that piece remains on display in Dillom's office , and its impact was such that the singer's fans even got tattoos of the crazy characters from the painting.

“I felt like this was the project for me,” Basualdo says . “My work is like a character in the story. There's something poetic that the kids and I share. The collaboration involved introducing Dylan to the context of my work,” he notes. “I've been working in theater and the arts for over 20 years; the kids started much less recently, but it's as if we're on the same wavelength, which isn't easy, especially coming from another discipline.”

For the book presentation in the afternoon, there was a line of Dillom fans waiting to get it signed from 6 a.m. It was held at the Ruth Benzacar Gallery, which will continue the celebrations for his 60th anniversary this Thursday at 8 p.m. with a screening of the documentary "Hay tiempo" (There's Time), about his story.

The art gallery, founded in 1965 and initially housed in a family home in Caballito, says it has always sought to be in step with its times : to listen and keep its eyes open so as not to miss what's happening, inviting artists from all walks of life, whether in music, dance, or theater. This was the case in its early days, when Ruth herself created an audiovisual project featuring music by the then-promising young artist Astor Piazzolla, which was screened at MoMA in New York.

The production of the images involved a huge production effort : Capasso as director and photographer, Santiago Ipar and Pablo Lozano as directors of photography, Natalia Francés in general production, Úrsula Benavidez in art direction, Catalina Gastal Vetrano in costume design, and a team of professionals who made it possible for the images to achieve the desired quality.

Printed by Akian Gráfica in 2025, By Caesarean section, The book will soon be available for purchase from the Bohemian Groove online store.