MSSA exhibition on problems of contemporary indigenous art

Exhibition at the MSSA seeks to make visible Latin American problems from contemporary indigenous art

Curated by Cristian Vargas Paillahueque, the exhibition Fugas de lo Nuestros. Indigenous visualities from south to north presents the work of artists Marilyn Boror, Venuca Evanán and Pablo Lincura, through which Latin American identity is problematized.

A collective exercise that reflects on what we understand by “ours” is what the exhibition Fugas de lo Nuestro presents. Indigenous visualities from south to north, curated by Cristian Vargas Paillahueque. The exhibition, which opens on April 13 at the MSSA, brings together three important contemporary indigenous artists who, from different perspectives and locations, address questions and stories from Latin America.

“The impulse of the exhibition seeks to open questions that critically examine the notion of what is ours and, to do so, different aesthetic proposals are used that problematize this exercise from both the indigenous and Latin American worlds,” explains Cristian Vargas Paillahueque.

Through their works, Marilyn Boror (San Juan Sacatepéquez, Mayan territory, Guatemala), Venuca Evanán (Ayacucho-Lima, Peru) and Pablo Lincura (Wallmapu, Chile) address the topicality and questioning power of indigenous art to reflect on complex themes from a decolonizing look, without restricting their artistic proposals only to the cultural differences from which they speak, but establishing them as a context to think about contemporaneity, the imaginaries and politics that cross visualities from south to north.

Extractivism and the indigenous struggle

Marilyn Boror (Maya-Guatemala, 1984) is a Mayan-Kaqchikel artist originally from San Juan Sacatepequez, a town that for almost two decades has been affected by the actions of the San Gabriel cement company. Due to the extractivism that this industry has exerted, the communities of this territory have suffered consequences such as the intervention of the landscape and the shortage of water. Thus, through her work, the artist vindicates the resistance of these communities against the violence exercised in her territories and re-situates the place of indigenous women as leaders of organizations and communities.

Establishing a critical relationship with materialities, the artist uses cement in her different artistic proposals, giving it a political and symbolic meaning. In her performance Living Monument (2021), which will take place on the opening day at the MSSA, Marilyn Boror covers her ankles with this material, melting with it on a plinth, in an act that seeks to commemorate the struggle of indigenous peoples and defenders. from the earth. Likewise, works such as The Future That Never Was, from the series They took away the mountain, they gave us cement, problematize the presence of this material, but also everything that is hidden under these layers of concrete. “From there, the artist gives visibility to what cement, progress or the city hides but that is always present in the background,” comments the curator of the exhibition.

Through other pieces such as To not forget their names, Combing the roots II or Dictionary of forgotten objects, Marilyn Boror vindicates indigenous resistance through the survival of objects, concepts and textile materials typical of the Maya-Kaqchikel community.

Resignifying family tradition
Declared as National Heritage of Peru, the Sarhua boards are a tradition from the Sarhuina community of Ayacucho. These woods, drawn with feathers and painted with natural pigments, tell family stories and are given as gifts to each other in community celebrations.

Part of a Sarhuina family that was forced to migrate to Lima escaping violence, Venuca Evanán is heir to this heritage tradition which is portrayed in her work Tabla Apaykuy y las delicias de la villa (2019/2024). However, from her perspective as a woman, indigenous and migrant, the artist redefines the technique and, using textiles and wood, she proposes new themes and problems that until now had been little explored in the Sarhuina tradition of painting the panels.

In her works, the artist also claims the place of enjoyment with pieces such as Erotic Self-Portrait (2023/2024), in which she addresses female sexuality as a Sarhuina woman, criticizing the conservatism with which these topics are relegated.

Along those same lines, she questions the female role in her community, where she is accustomed to having a governance system led by men. In Las varayuq (2019/2024), through an acrylic painting on wood, Venuca expresses the hope of dissolving this disparity, empowering Sahuina women in the political leadership of the community.

Diversities of the Mapuche imaginary

From a dissident perspective, the Mapuche artist Pablo Lincura presents a proposal in which he mixes gestures from indigenous culture and pop culture by creating portraits and faces in oil, using vibrant colors and decorative elements.

Pablo, influenced by his studies and interest in Asian visualities, has dedicated himself to making visual reflections on the relationship between gender, sexuality, marginality and beauty. An example of this is his work Guerrero Mapuche (2010), in which he fuses Mapuche symbols and iconography with reminiscences of imagery and the Chinese language coming from his search for other aesthetics and references. This link between both cultures is reflected in the posture of the martial warrior who positions himself from both worlds and gestures.

In his paintings the artist also works on aspects of Mapuche history, such as contact with the Spanish between the 16th and 19th centuries. In Shiñura (2024), the artist portrays how Spanish or Chilean women were added to the Mapuche communities within the framework of interethnic relations, thus generating different lineages with the chief authorities. This aspect is evident in the message on the canvas: “akulu shiñura lof mew” (“when the shiñeru came to the community”).

This set of works is entirely linked to three audiovisual pieces that will be part of the exhibition, whose content questions stereotypes, the role of sexual diversities and vindicates the prominence of the indigenous language through Mapuzungun covers of Chilean popular songs.

Leaks of ours. Indigenous visualities from south to north opens on April 13, 2024 and can be visited from Tuesday to Friday, between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday between 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., in the second floor of the MSSA, until September 1 of this year.