El Sur – Narratives of Extraction
Group exhibition
Main hall, Färgfabriken
Curator: Victoria McCarthy in collaboration with Färgfabriken’s curator Emilia Rosenqvist and process leader Daniel Urey.
Participating artists: Seba Calfuqueo (Chile), Ana Alenso (Venezuela), Alejandra Prieto (Chile), Naomi Rincón-Gallardo (Mexico), Marcela Magno (Argentina), and Maxi Mamani (Bartolina Xixa, Argentina).
In this spring’s big exhibition at Färgfabriken, the shadow side of extractivism is exposed. Here the compass is pointed South towards Latin America, a landmass rich in desirable natural resources, at a time when fossil fuels are to be phased out.
Based on subjects such as water, oil, and lithium, Latin American artists depict the consequences for people, animals and environments of the ongoing exploitation of natural resources in countries such as Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, and Mexico. Of gigantic lithium beds, polluted rivers, privatized water sources and indigenous populations that are constantly forced to give way to the inexhaustible material needs of the outside world.
El Sur gives the audience the opportunity to meet outstanding artistry that has not previously been shown in Sweden. The expressions vary and include video, installation, photography, sound works, and performance. Participating artists are Seba Calfuqueo (Chile), Ana Alenso (Venezuela), Alejandra Prieto (Chile), Naomi Rincón-Gallardo (Mexico), Marcela Magno (Argentina), and Maxi Mamani (Bartolina Xixa, Argentina).
About the artists
Ana Alenso (Venezuela) is a visual artist based in Berlin, Germany. Through sculpture, photography, video, sound, and installations, she reflects on the ecological, social, and economic conflicts and risks associated with natural resource extraction. She has exhibited her work in Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg (Germany), and Brücke-Museum (Germany), among others. Ana Alenso exhibits two works at Färgfabriken, the installation Lo que la mina te da, la mina te quita (What the mine gives, the mine takes, 2020) and the sound piece Blood of the Earth (2019).
Seba Calfuqueo (Chile) is a Mapuche artist and curator based in Santiago, Chile. Through installation, video, ceramics, and performance, she proposes a critical reflection on the cultural, political, and social status of the Mapuche subject in contemporary Chilean society. Calfuqueo focuses her practice in exploring queer theories as well as the differences and similarities of Indigenous and Western ways of thinking. Her works are part of numerous collections, such as Denver Art Museum (USA), Museo MALBA (Argentina), Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (Spain), and Centre Pompidou (France). Seba Calfuqueo exhibits the video Kowkülen (Liquid Being, 2020) at Färgfabriken.
Marcela Magno (Argentina) is a visual artist that investigates and expands the photographic media. Her main interest lies in the power of the photographic image to produceandconstructknowledge, and to structure individual and collective memory. She has exhi- bited her works both in Argentina and abroad, in events and institu- tions such as Photo Beijing (China), Casa Azul del Arte (Chile), Tokyo Institute of Photography (Japan), La Habana Biennale (Cuba), Photo Speaks (South Korea), and Art Museum of the Americas (USA). Marcela Magno exhibits the photo installation Land [2] Litio (2022-) a part of the overarching project Land (2012-) at Färgfabriken.
Maxi Mamani (Bartolina Xixa, Argentina) is a Coya artist and drag queen from Jujuy who works with photography, performance and video. Through her pieces she seeks to fight against discrimination and addresses social issues such as anti-colonialism, identity struggle, sexual dissidence, inequality of Indigenous communities, ecological, environmental, and territorial concerns. In 2017, Mamani conceived the alter ego Bartolina Xixa, driven by an urge to challenge the colonial roots of subaltern identities within Southern cultures and the accompanying imposition of racial and gender categorisations. She has shown her works in many institutions and events, such as Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (Brazil), Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof (Germany), Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende (Chile), and 11 Berlin Biennale (Germany). Maxi Mamani exhibits the video Ramita Seca, La colonialidad permanente (2019) at Färgfabriken.
Alejandra Prieto (Chile) is an artist who uses paintings, videos, sculptures, and installations as her media. In her practice, she investigates the material constitution of things, with a special focus on minerals and how they interact with humans on a physical and conceptual level. Prieto has exhibited her works in many art spaces in Chile, and in several international venues and events, such as the Bienal de La Habana (Cuba), Saatchi Gallery (UK), SIART Bienal (Bolivia), Palais de Tokyo (France), and Sala de Arte Público Siqueiros (Mexico). Alejandra Prieto exhibits the video Sólo Tendrás Piedras (2020) at Färgfabriken.
Naomi Rincón-Gallardo (Mexico) is a visual artist and researcher who approaches her practice from a decolonial-cuir perspective. Her work delves into critical-mythical dreamscapes, aiming to create alternative realities within neo- colonial contexts. Drawing inspiration from theatre games, popular music, Mesoamerican cosmologies, speculative fiction, vernacular festivities, crafts, decolonial feminisms, and queer of color critique, she integrates diverse influences into her artistic vision. She has exhibited her works in La Casa Encendida (Spain), 59th Biennale di Venezia (Italy), 34th Bienal de São Paulo (Brazil), MOMENTA 2023 (Canada), and Museo de Arte Cont- emporáneo de Oaxaca (Mexico), among others. Naomi Rincón-Gallardo exhibits the video Soneto de Alimañas (Sonnet of Vermin, 2022) at Färgfabriken.
Further reading
Download a pdf of the exhibition leaflet designed by Evelina Mohei for further reading.
Exhibition leaflet English pdf.
In relation to the exhibition, there is a reading room with literature on the subject, made possible in collaboration with Konstfack’s library.
Cover: Still from Naomi Rincón-Gallardo’s video Soneto de alimañas (Sonnet of Vermin).
Contact
In collaboration with
In relation to the exhibition, there is a reading room with literature on the subject, made possible in collaboration with Konstfack’s library.
