NEO NORTE 2 . 0 London
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NEO NORTE 2.0 Exhibition where a Latin American collective invite to re-think who determines the North ‘It has been two centuries, twice a hundred years since independence and nonetheless the vestiges of colonisation still remain…’ comments Tere Chad, the curator of Neo Norte. This is an exhibition that proposes the south as the new north. The show opens up the debate about the dominance of Eurocentric curatorial practices, and how this impact cultures that remain behind. The proposal reflects about why, at times, there appears to exist a pejorative against Latin American art. In response, Neo Norte invites to a dialogue of ethnic, folkloric, and western artworks in the same space. The artworks showcased during this exhibition are inspired by broad topics, such as: cultural syncretism, migrations as creative destructions that can open doors for new opportunities, shamanism from a Pre-Columbian and western perspective, and last but not least, the contrast between digital and physical materiality in the old and the new continent. Neo Norte was presented for the first time in August 2018 at the Fundación Cultural de Providencia, Santiago, Chile. Now it will be displayed for the second time at Exposed Arts Projects, located at 4-6 Drayson Mews, Kensington, London W8 4LY (close to High Street Kensington tube station). It will form part of a series about ‘Empowerments’ exhibited at this space. PARTICIPANTS: Beatriz Creel, César Baracca, Clarissa Serafim, Cindy Moreno, Domenica Landin, Emiliano de Rokha, Giuseppe Mario Urso, José García, José Miranda, Lorenzo Belenguer, Luisa Rodríguez, Maritina Keleri, Matteo Valerio, Nataly Pérez, Mica Mornaghi, Olav Lorentzen, Paulina Figueroa, Paula Turmina, Rafael MC, Raúl Valdivia, Santiago Rodríguez, Stephanie Rodríguez, Tere Chad, Teresa Paiva, Victoria Vargas.
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index Migrations • Erika Herrera Rosales • Rafael MC • Luisa Rodríguez • Maritina Keleri • Domenica Landin • Tere Chad Nature Vs. Digital: • Cindy Moreno • Clarissa Serafim • Matteo Valerio • Santiago Rodríguez • José García Shamanism: • Giuseppe Mario Urso • Paula Turmina • Mica Mornaghi • José Miranda • Beatriz Creel Cultural Syncretism: • Teresa Paiva • Lorenzo Belenguer • César Baracca • Tere Chad • Olav Lorentzen
Central Saint Martins Window: • Nataly Pérez • Giuseppe Mario Urso • Clarissa Serafim • Tere Chad • Latinos Creative Society Public Events: • Paulina Figueroa • Raúl Valdivia • Victoria Vargas • Stephanie Rodríguez
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Borders may present themselves in the form of cement walls, high-tied seas, or immense desserts. Either artificial or natural, borders separate national citizens from migrants. For the latter, that is, people fleeing from death, wars, and undignified living conditions, the promise is that once they cross the border it would all be worth it. More often than not, this promise is never fulfilled as borders at host countries have increased and become more complex. Security checks, delayed visa procedures, and other political and judicial processes have presented a new kind of border for migrants. For example, in the US-Mexico border in Tijuana apart from the border walls, migrants who seek asylum have to face a border of time. Asylum-seekers have to wait for more than a year for the US migration system to deliberate on their cases, putting them in a state of irregularity and uncertainty for extended periods of time. In this sense, contemporary borders have transformed into abstract borders with very real consequences for the lives of migrants. As Portuguese and decolonial thinker, Boaventura de Sousa Santos, describes: “Wire borders are the most visible, but there are less visible borders, the ones in our minds�. The increase of invisible borders translate into barriers in the educational, cultural, social and legal system. Even as immigrants embrace new traditions, languages, and national values, practices of exclusions are still enacted against them. From racism at schools and workplaces to police searches and profiling, migrants are constantly reminded that they do not belong; which explains why people who have become permanent residents in their new homelands, never stop feeling like migrants. Hence, it is not a
migrations
Erika Herrera Rosales
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question of migrants wanting (or not) to integrate to a new society, but a question of nations hindering their incorporation into society. Behind the proliferation of borders and the never-ending quest of migrants’ belonging lies a global system that benefits from constructing (in)visible borders. There have been some reports on private, for-profit companies running detention centers for migrant children. Likewise, the obtainment of visa requires a fair amount of money. In terms of social borders, migrants are put in a state of discomfort in public spaces that keep them isolated and with little contact with each other to politically organize themselves and demand better treatment from governments. Of course there are some episodes, such as the Central American caravans in Mexico, that demonstrated collectivity amongst migrants travelling in large groups and the solidarity they received from local communities. Hopefully, acts of empathy and kindness can multiply as borders continue to appear in different guises. Erika Herrera Rosales is a PhD student in Sociology at the University of Warwick. Drawing on decolonial/postcolonial theory and critical human rights approach, her research addresses the relationship between humanitarian organisations and migrants from Central America in Mexico. She holds an MA in Social and Political Thought from University of Sussex and a BA in Sociology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Previously, she has participated with NGOs in Mexico City who engage with refugees and asylum-seekers as well as on topics of democratisation and education. She has been a committee member at the Centre of Studies of Women and Gender at Warwick and a research assistant at UNAM.
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rafael mc
This project begun in 2014 with the intention of identifying the native reader in Mexico, problematize and reflect on the quantity and quality of what is read individually and collectively in relation to other subjects and nations. As a construction of the Mexican social imaginary that can be represented on walls. The original book object was composed of 9 miniature walls made in mixed media, extra hard binding with Styrofoam, cardboard and gray cement. From the post-Mexican comes the deep crisis of identity and legitimacy that both sociology and modern societies suffer due to the economic process known as globalization, this gigantic effort to impose the cultural aspects of a social group to different societies is having as a result the expansion of existing cracks within different countries. This time my work is composed of 3 miniature walls representing a selection of testimonies and visual perspectives from migrant activity in the US-Mexican borders. Through book arts and wellbeing it is possible to build an archive of memories and dreams that challenge Donald Trump’s migration ideas as current president of US.
www.rafaelmc.co.uk rafaelmoralescendejas@gmail.com
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Luisa Rodriguez
My constructions examine social realities and factual recollections by highlighting 'underlooked' elements discovered throughout the built environment. The contrast between surfaces such as polished-raw, refined–unrefined, new-old, inside-outside all investigate architecture exposing its honesty and susceptibility whilst drawing links to human conditions. Through the repurposing and treatment of discarded materials, I create two-sided objects which bring together contrasting realities into single moments of perception. Meticulous and calculated processes pair with intuitive and spontaneous gestures into creating hybrid, concrete reflections of the surrounding world pretending to reveal resources not discovered before. These are the result of the attentive exploration of specific urban locations which are consequently reduced into minimal forms for which the material qualities are fundamental. Continuously informed by current developments in architecture and design, the work comprises 2D representations, 3D structures or combinations of both pretending to break the boundaries between the disciples of art and architecture. Influenced by my upbringings in Honduras, a developing country, it ultimately draws attention to themes of inequity, forgetfulness, replacement, and value. www.luisa-rodriguez.com
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Maritina Keleri
The title of the installation is the Greek word ‘xenos’ [ξένος] which means ‘unfamiliar’. This word is used to describe equally the ‘foreigner’ – meaning generally the person that comes from a different land – and the ‘guest’, depending on the context. Therefore, we have the words ‘xenophobe’ the person who is afraid of foreigners and ‘xenophile’ the person who is fond of foreign cultures.The question posed at the Neo Norte exhibition is a current one. Why is the 'West', or the 'North', considered the place we all should look up to? What is that which makes us 'xenophobes' or 'xenophiles' towards the one or the other? We tend to be xenophiles towards 'high' cultures and xenophobes towards to what we believe are 'low' cultures. However, what or who determines who is the ‘xenos’ Each one of us has been a ‘xenos’, either in a foreign country or in one's native country, or even one’s own home. The elements that compose a who is ‘xenos’ derive from our social and cultural construct but mostly they come from our sense of Self.This interactive installation addresses this question by reconsidering the sense of Self which is directly related to the image of our face.
maritinakeleri@gmail.com
@maritina.keleri
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Domenica Landin
At the intersection between graphic art and sculpture, my practice explores ideas on perceptual experience and how it relates to the understanding of our physical and non-physical world. Deconstruction and repetition outline the framework of my work subjecting visual elements to a reiterated process of subdivision capturing, within the process, fragments of colour and form. The surface quality aspects of materials such as colour, texture, and pattern will often result in unexpected compositions that will challenge altogether their physical appearance. Conceived as visual interventions, my work invites the viewer to reflect beyond their surroundings and redefine their perceptions.
www.domenicalandin.com
domenicalandinb@gmail.com
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Traditionally the ‘north’ has been a convention stablished by the nations in power. The maps we tend to use, were designed to benefit commercial voyages of Europe. But this maps not only define geographical parameters, they also build socio-cultural stigmas influencing over cultural supremacy. Nevertheless, in such an unstable world, I dare to quote Joaquín Torres García and put our south as the new north. (Tere Chad)
Who determines where the North is? I will follow you to the North in the same way I will follow you to the South and I am sure you can tell me where the north is, however in visual arts there is an imaginary idea of positive and negative upon direction totally related to this topic. The majority will look forward to the right side but it is contraditory to have only the positive aspects in life, we should have a balance in both senses, perfection is boring. (Rafael MC) Questioning the role of education, I’ve always wondered why our north was always either Europe or the United States, as I previously explained there is a pull towards the north that has nothing to do with a magnetic field but rather a social and economic field. While being in the North this pull has changed, there’s a sudden anchor weighing on me about my background and my culture that resurfaces. By having the absence of something I recognize it and embrace it. It manifests itself in culture, through language, food and music, and other forms. There’s a fundamental similarity between the word Compass and Compassion. Etymologically one means to walk together and the other means to suffer together, in both there’s an inherent solidarity, a recognition of the other. The way I conceived the world has shifted and I no longer recognize myself in this environment, I am exoticized now I am strange, my centre has been displayed and I’m looking for my own path to follow, my south. (Santiago Rodríguez)
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Numbers. Regardless of geographical location, the North is determined by a socio-economic and political gap with the South. The North—with one-quarter of the world population—controls four-fifths of the income earned anywhere in the world. Inversely, the South—with three-quarters of the world population—has access to one-fifth of the world income. (Domenica Landin)
Who determines where the North is? The people who won't stand far enough to see the whole picture. (Paulina Figueroa) Like a compass, our own existence seems to be channelled towards a distant North. Only one who is part of the dominant culture has the right key to control this invisible force of attraction. An outsider has only two options left: to follow or to fight. (Giuseppe Mario Urso) Power is so hard to circumscribe, it is a physical element that will always determine the nature of materials, and as much as we are controlled by it. The power of materials might be an equilibrium of plus minus of the possible meanings, at this point, embedded in it. (Matteo Valerio)
Both concepts, the North and the South, are arbitrarily defined. There is no reason why the map of the world could not be the other way up, but it’s an image that has become normalised and accepted as the truth. Who decides that? The Western world would be my obvious answer, but I’m more interested in the processes that keep such topographical and cultural conventions alive, which are more complex and closer to home than the idea of power flowing in one direction, from North to South. To put it bluntly, the North also keeps its position of power when we, people from the South, underestimate our local knowledges and practices, in favour of those we perceive as ‘more advanced’ from the North. Our elites in Latin America exacerbate this situation through their aspiration to membership to one of the powerful metropolises in the North, London in particular. (Raúl Valdivia)
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The digital age has changed the way we communicate. For many of us it is probably easier and faster, but in a world where everything seems to be immediate, do slow processes have something to offer? As humans, we are losing the ability to feel and connect our body, but what can natural materials and handwork offer to modern lifestyle? Works that go beyond our sight and engage our senses are coming back to the basic human needs, engaging the human body as a whole and in so doing generating new dynamics of communication and interaction between each other in a deeper and more sensitive way.
NATURE VS DIGITAL
Cindy Moreno
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Cindy Lilen
Although we live in a world where communication is rapidly developing, and migration has linked people across borders as never before, do we actually know how to connect to each other in a meaningful way? Does there exist a universal language that enables us to do so? This is the main question of my work. Looking for ways that can make humans interact and communicate in a better way, my work tries to rescue the most important aspects from ancestral techniques and lost languages to give them a contemporary form to engage us using all the senses, creating a multidimensional language that goes beyond words. My work is based on human experiences, interactions, and cultures; through these, I try to offer a balance between hands, brain and soul either visually or tangibly. Having come from one of the most remote areas of the planet, Patagonia, where everyone is closely connected to the natural world, nature has always spoken to me through materials, which is why I have chosen only natural sources to be my medium to create these new ways of communication. I believe that ancestral societies grounded in nature have the most sophisticated, deep, pure, and universal language.
www.cindylilen.com
info@cindylilen.com
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Clarissa Serafim
Textiles and clothing are the materials I find inspiration from, for their texture, movement and memories.Through experimental sewing processes, compositions are made out of textiles surplus, where fabric panels come to live, as well as their own experiences and people connected with it. These objects explore the relationship between fashion and textile art, expanding the conventional use of clothing, as wearable objects, to multilayered surfaces that now occupy the exhibition room as storytellers. University of Arts of London Alumni, with a Master in Fashion Media Production at London College of Fashion, now, doing a PhD in Contemporary Art at University of Coimbra with an interdisciplinary research project in textile art and sustainability.
www.clarabela17.wixsite.com/mywork
clarabela17@hotmail.com
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Matteo Valerio
The works of Valerio investigate our relationship with commercial process and manufacturing, exploring the tension between artisan practice and the frantic pace of modern production, using natural dyes, recycled materials and traditional techniques. His work raise from an interest in the dynamics that surrounds the production of goods and how it conditions the environment and the social behavior of people involved. Responding to the latest changes that are determining the end of most of the craftsmanship in his home country, his recent work focuses on the research of artisanal realities that could be updated even though traditional, by representing an approach to production that could harmonize work, daily life and nature. Artisanal practices are taken as subjects to remember the world we are risking to lose.
www.matteovalerio.com
matteovalerio2000@gmail.com
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santiago rodriguez
Colombian designer interested in expanding the boundaries of editorial design and publishing. Taking the role of listener, mediator and communicator, I am placing myself as a transversal actor in the creation of knowledge. My practice is driven by the dynamics of the global south and how knowledge circulates and is created in these geographies, finding strategies for knowledge to emerge as a self-initiated activity between different communities. I took part in UNAIDS Colombia, the United Nations Programme for HIV/AIDS. Designer of 4-18, where I developed several projects with different communities from Colombia. Creating design strategies to recognize the cultural and environmental patrimony of Colombia and finding ways to circulate these experiences. Currently Art Director of CARMA Journal the first interdisciplinary art journal from Colombia. I’ve worked with several artists including Yunyu “Ayo” Shih for whom I designed a book for Shanghai’s Biennial around the issue of bribery in Colombia. My work has been published at Design and Design, Bells and Whistles Printing with Special Effects and MacM Ming Contemporary Art Museum of Shanghai.
www.4-18.org
www.carmajournal.org
san.tiago92126@gmail.com
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Jose Garcia
The Perinola. It is one of the traditional games of Venezuela and se- veral Latin American countries. The game consists of trying to insert the head of the perinola on the stick through a thread that unites both objects. In the head of the perinola, you can see two words on both sides: Hope and Uncertainty. Both words are the conceptual description of the game. First, you have the hope that you can achieve it, and meanwhile, uncertainty is present. An analogy can be made be- tween this classic game and the situation of Venezuela and many Latin American countries, waiting for the dream of freedom, in a current land of uncertainty. Both objects are created to play, but having blocks in both ends, creates frustration in the viewers since they are not able to use the pieces. Such frustration is a reflection of the Latin people in the current socio-political scenario. These pieces are accompanied by a loop video, which projects people playing and trying to achieve the objective of the game. The video is made up of different people and an animation that shows the duality between failure and victory.Â
josecgoliva@gmail.com
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What is shamanism to you? Acknowledging the challenging aspect of the word, this room seeks to question what the word shamanism means and who has the right to use it. We embrace a vision of the world that can be expressed through art making and storytelling, and the experience of transformation. A source of power and knowledge. Myths are invented, reinvented, distorted and resignified through time. Can we reach otherworldly experiences? We speculate the idea of shamanism, respecting the ancestral knowledge and finding ways of accessing it. The experience is yours to be reached.
SHAMANISM
Paula Turmina
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Giuseppe Mario URSO
At a time of extreme division, when the instinctive response to the perceived threat of the unknown is to build high walls, I was intrigued by two great Ladies who stand far apart, yet who share similar values and hopes: The Statue of Liberty and Nuestra SeĂąora de Guadalupe. What if I stuck them together, and painted each one with the colours of the other? How would this visual cross-appropriation affect these powerful images? On the back of the Lady of Guadalupe my fictional character Nero Blake has interfered by adding two images: the Nazca Monkey and the Dragon of the Apocalypse, two graffiti representing the first and last steps of the human adventure on this planet, a memento mori which reminds us of the possibility of human extinction, but which also challenges us to stop the unstoppable. The irreverent mix-ups suggested by the treatment of these mass-produced souvenirs might trigger contrasting memories and emotions. This is a respectable desecration that, in removing these icons from their pedestals, allows them to converse with the viewer in a new way. An upside-down installation that, defying gravity, encourages us to come close, reflect, and observe reality with fresh eyes. One thing is certain, now that the two Ladies are stuck together, only a fool could dream of separating them! instagram.com/giuseppemariourso
gm@urso.itÂ
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Paula Turmina
Paula Turmina (MA Fine Art Painting, Slade School of Fine Art UCL) is a Brazilian multidisciplinary artist whose work explores mythology and magic realism in order to imagine new perspectives of the future. Her paintings, analog films, and sculptures often create expansive imaginary visuals that concern her personal experience, ecological issues, and Latin American colonial history. She is interested in anthropological and post-colonial theories as a methodology of speculative futures that takes into account beyond human lives. Paula is the co-founder of the project 'Plantaphilia' that consists of an ongoing series of films that aim to encompass the perspective of plant ontology. She was the artist in residence at Winsor & Newton in collaboration with The Fine Art Collective in April 2019 and also works as a teacher for an independent school for kids with special needs. Her recent shows include ‘Latin America Myth Deconstruction’ at the Crypt Gallery, ‘Being Together is not Enough’ at Five Years Gallery, 'Neo Norte' at Fundación Cultural de Providencia in Chile and 'Research Images as Art/Art Images as Research' at the Doctoral School (UCL).
www.paulaturmina.com
paulapturmina@gmail.com
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Mica Mornaghi
I am an artist and a jeweller from Argentina, living in London. My work covers jewellery and objects that belong to a sculptural realm as well as to the body. As a storyteller, I create a visual poetry drawn by a great interest in colour and composition. Exploring the self-being, the body and the relationship with objects, amulets and rituals. As a passionate artistic soul with a deep connection to spirituality and ancestral wisdom my work is part of a research on the heritage and transformation of rituals and amulets in our contemporary world. I believe that my practice is a reflection of current themes that are linked to the collective unconscious. I work principally with natural materials such as crystals – stones and metals as a way of shielding the natural resources that we had before new technologies and materials appeared through time. Anyway, I am an intricate explorer of the newness and the discovery of essentiality in one self. I believe in the importance of the material with energetic and healing properties, empowering both maker and wearer – owner. Addressing the spiritual value of making also as a way of meditation and the transformation of the material into a talisman.
micamornaghi.com
micaelamornaghi@gmail.com
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JOSE MIRANDA
Rimaykullayki (Greetings) Art is what you are. I am a descendant of the wary etnic cultural people of ayacucho. It was a journey of self discovery. My country is Peru but we were missing for hundred of years. My art tries to bring that view of my culture. Our values, language, cosmovision,music, dress, food, best traditions, etc. The language is very important for any identity. Pachamama, sumaq kawsay , ama quella, ama swa, ama llulla, rimaykullayki, kaschanky, paqarinkaman, taytay, warmy, wawa, yacu, rumi, kancha, cuy, chakana, munayki, kura ocllo, aqha, apus, sara are some keshwa words which i want to recreate in my art. I think my people has got a message for these modern times. You must care about mother nature (pachamama) and be happy in harmony with it. Tupananchiskama (see you soon) and paquarimkaman (see you tomorrow). Art is what you are therefore I am."... I am from Peru and one issue which was missing in our independence a plural and multicultural society. Our art must reflect our ancestors view of the world but in modern times. In that way we will be combat racism and descrimination against the people of Andes. The racism is endemic in Peru and art is the main weapon to defeat it. My paint is that way I am. ... " sweetpachamama@yahoo.com
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BEATRIZ CREEL
I come from the megalopolis of Mexico City, categorised as chaotic, surreal, unique. My background unexpectedly has been a significant aspect of my identity as a person and as an artist in contrast to what I encountered when moving to the UK for a masters degree in Fine Art. Play has been a recurrent drive for my practice due to its amplification forms and applications. In a nutshell, it can obliterate and conceive all at once. Because play can only be constrained by imagination, It captures the kind of experiences that cannot be repeated and is contingent not only to the individual experience but relations with others. These experiences precede interpretation and can always take on unexpected tangents that are beyond my control as an artist by making the boundaries purposely porous. My practice intends to perform in three realms: The stage (0) responds to aesthetics and technique, the stage (x) responds to the conceptual/research-based aspect, and the stage (一一) represents the interactivity of the artwork. These elements are meant to be folded upon each other, but they also exist on their own. There is no duty form the audience to navigate through all, they need to want to be part of it, it is self-selecting. It is a matter of choice how blurry and how sharp it will be. www.tizcreel.com
contact@tizcreel.com
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Mixing and remixing, pollinations, amalgamations‌works follow the flow of life itself. Interwoven movements and matter, an array of visual narratives unfolds throughout the room questioning and reflecting on ideas of cultural legacy with poetic gestures and the use of eclectic languages and materials. The world is in flux, and so are we... According to the Oxford dictionary, syncretism is the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought. At first impression, it might look eclectic, but on second thoughts the visual narratives exposed in this room start making sense and are connected to each other like in life itself. The Neo-Norte exhibition addresses those issues in this room such as accepted symbolism that perpetuates the propagation of stereotypes – North versus South -, a flawed sense of superiority, and the fictional obsession of perceiving reality as dual: North/South, Superior/Inferior, upper/lower class, right/wrong, etc.
CULTURAL SINCRETISM
Teresa Paiva & Lorenzo Belenguer
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teresa paiva
Rooted in memory, materiality, contingency and improvisation, work manifests primarily across sculpture, sound and performance, delving into quasi -ritualistic processes of collecting, assembling and disassembling. Latest practice critically looks into the conundrums of Western-centred cultural legacy by physically engaging with its detritus( waste), reflecting on industrialisation and its impact on people, land and consequent experiences of space, time and place. Often departing from ‘first-hand encounters’ with people, places and ‘things’, work unravels intuitively as a ‘conversation’, often invoking public participation. In essence, the work becomes a testing ground of ideas, a flow of memories and things, somehow acting as a catalyst for individual and collective change to foster empathic and healthier ways of engaging with our environments and each other. I am interested in how local narratives/stories and collective actions can connect people to exchange and create together thus questioning ideas of authorship and art as a commodity.
www.cityclubmk.org/artists/teresa-paiva www.teresapaiva.com www.powerintheland.co.uk/artists/teresa-paiva/
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The French philosopher Michel Foucault argued that power should not be understood as repressive but creative. The field of art and design is a key battleground in which ‘truths’ can be contested and alternative ways of seeing the world can be fostered. Of course, this is easier said than done, as it requires unlearning our own privileges, developing a critical and reflexive mind, and being kind and generous to everyone and the planet. All qualities in short supply these days sadly… (Raúl Valdivia) Power sometimes falls in a toxic dependant relation, were people driven by their insecurities need to be over others and some just prefer to be led instead of taking on responsibilities. Digital era has blurred the traditional hierarchies boundaries, hence I feel we’re experiencing a very dynamic time of history were we have no idea if the conventional conception of ‘ruling power’ works to organise democracies anymore. (Tere Chad)
How else can we regard our relation to power? As a (human) species we are drawn to power and dominance, It is what has made us survive and become the the most influential group on earth. Our innate desire for power and be confused with our desire to evolve. Fear acts as a catalyst to make us reach the next level of our journey. I think its important to acknowledge the power we have and be aware of how and when we are using it and to not let the ego overule its potential for good. Using a particular force for a collective can benefit our relationship to power, being in service of others, or representing an idea of a societal growth. Power can be a very dangerous concept, one that we have to respect and not obsess. (Santiago Joaquín)
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Lorenzo Belenguer
Belenguer is like a hunter who trawls the city for found objects and images loaded with symbolism to construct new narratives. The past emerges into a new future; unopened and enigmatic. In his new series of work, made for this exhibition, Belenguer juxtapositions symbols from LatinAmerican (Inca, Aztec, Nazca, Maya, Tepaneca, etc) and European (British, Spanish, Portuguese, etc) Empires and/or structures of power, developing a new layer of visual languages. He investigates the use of symbols that imposes and reinforces hierarchies in the social strata, its effectiveness in the subconsciousness of the collective, and the political propaganda in the propagation of fear to the enemy and the lower class. The works are then submerged into water where the images and drawings go through a process of decomposition. It mimics the commonality in the washing down of memories and historical accounts reinterpreted by some of the natives in a romantic and nostalgic view of the empire they used to belong to. However, traditional hierarchization of the elites controlling the masses within those territories shall become obsolete in the era of neo-technological empires, big data and connected smartphones. www.lorenzobelenguer.com
lbelenguer@hotmail.com
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CĂŠsar Baracca
This project is inspired by three religious artefacts - a turquoise aztec mask, a golden jaguar and an obsidian mirror The artist transmutes fragment of plastic credit card into contemporary objects with cultural meaning. It’s an invitation to explore other realities, completely foreign to Western thought as they identify with different experiences in relation to the own environment. They are representational forms and contents of symbolic thought. TURQUOISE MASK The turquoise mask, represents Xiuhtecuhtli, the Aztec god of fire and time, to be worn solely by the High Priest in religious ceremonies. GOLDEN JAGUAR In pre-Columbian Central and South America the jaguar was a symbol of power and strength. It was considered a sacred animal and during religious rituals the High Priest wore jaguar skins which represented the power of the sun, gold, fire and thunder. In Aztec mythology the jaguar was also considered to be the sacred animal of the powerful deity Tezcatlipoca. OBSIDIAN MIRROR The Aztecs also associated it with their god Tezcatlipoca as they believed it served as a portal into another realm. Tezcatlipoca is the god of the nocturnal sky, ancestral memory, time and the Lord of the North, channeling the Jaguar and the embodiment of change through conflict. www.cesarbaracca.com
baracca.cesar@gmail.com
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tere chad
Chilean creative inventor, co-founder of the Latinos Creative Society of University of the Arts London and curator of Neo Norte. MA in Art and Science (Central Saint Martins, 2018), currently pursuing a MA Sculpture at the Royal College of Art. She has exhibited her work on 4 different continents and is highly interested in promoting Latin American art & culture. At Neo Norte 2.0 she will exhibit ‘Selk’nam Calling’ in the ‘Cultural Syncretism’ room. A memorial installation dedicated to the Selk’nam, Onawo or Ona people. They were a tribe in Patagonia that ceased to exist between the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Many references support the fact that this happened due to a genocide committed by a group of Argentinians, Chileans, British and other Europeans. The installation will consist of a traditional red telephone cabin defaced with the patterns of a ritual used by the Selk’nam males upon passing to adulthood. When the viewer picks up the telephone, the viewer will be able to listen to the chants of the Selk’nam recorded by Martin Gusinde. The musical archives are on loan by Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Preussischer Kulturbesitz. With the installation the artist invites to reflect upon what has prevailed and vanished in the post-colonial era. terechad@hotmail.com
www.terechad.com
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Olav Lorentzen
The work that you see, these works are instruments, the actual, real work, is the music which passes through them. I think of it as an attempt to reimagine how to make relationships among human beings more productive. For me, art is about wanting something that has never actually existed in the world before.
www.olavlorentzen.com
olav.lorentzen@gmail.com
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As an artist you need time to heal and time for yourself, considering this every project may be in danger to be delayed, if you want quality in your work you need to say no to the idea of quantity at some point of your artistic practice. (Rafael MC) Creativity knows no boundaries, except for the limits we set ourselves. To get what you want you must escape from your own traps. (Giuseppe Mario Urso)
What is holding you back from getting what you want? In Peru we have an expression called la argolla, a closed and powerful group of people that benefits its members only. In the field of academia and the arts, being outside la argolla means not being invited to speak at public events, not being published (or finding it harder to be), and certainly not being commissioned to do paid work. Basically, you don’t exist as a professional, unless you join la argolla, which requires careful networking, deference, and a non-confrontational way of articulating your ideas. These are all mechanisms aimed at protecting the cosiness of the group so its members can continue accruing the symbolic power derived from public recognition, without being disturbed by dissident voices. I’m not part of la argolla, nor have I the intention of joining it, so that holds me back sometimes. Hopefully, I will get there, eventually! (Raúl Valdivia) Fear, bad habits and reluctance to change. We're the only ones who can transform our realities. (Lorenzo Belenguer) Regretting failure, instead of understanding it as learning opportunity that will help you to keep on forward. (Tere Chad)
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Nataly Pérez
Chilean artist interested in the use of wool as a raw material in her works, through the use of different textile techniques such as felting, loom and fiber dyeing. Usually, through the representation of fragments of human figure and skin, her works act as a reflection on personal and collective memories. She presents personal memory as both a vital faculty in the configuration of the identity, as well as a need to track and preserve her memories, experiences and feelings. Collective memory is explored through photographs and stories of historical events. Nataly´s most recent exploration is focused on the representation of iconographic memory, present in Mapuche textiles, which is linked to oral tradition (beliefs, stories and traditions). She studied Fine Art at Universidad de Chile, specialising in Sculpture, and has a BA in Education in High School Art Education from Pontífice Universidad Católica de Chile which she completed in 2009. Since then she has participated in group exhibitions throughout Chile, Argentina, México and Belgium. In 2017, she had a solo exhibition called “Tres Latidos” (Three Heartbeats) at Casa Diego Rivera, Puerto Montt, Chile. Recently, she has been offered a place at MA Fine Art at Leeds Arts University. www.natalyperez.com
perez.rivas.n@gmail.com
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raul valdivia
I was part of the team in charge of public events. I really enjoyed discussing ideas with artists and curators in the group. We put together a series of very interesting events for all sorts of audiences. Every aspect of the workshops and the panel discussion was carefully considered, ensuring that we had something thought-provoking and fun to offer. The main theme was decolonisation. But what does this new buzzword mean from a Latin American perspective? And, more importantly, how can we incorporate this approach into artistic and curatorial practices? Although there aren’t definite answers, we wanted to create a space for a meaningful exchange of ideas, taking stock of a rich tradition of socially-engaged art in our region. I designed and co-delivered a workshop on how to promote decolonising perspectives through the different artistic practices taught at Central Saint Martins. I also developed the main idea for the panel discussion in which I was one of the speakers. Titled Volteando la Tortilla: Latin American Knowledges and Art Practices on the Rise, this event sought to highlight the challenges, contradictions, and opportunities for artistic and curatorial practices in Latin America and within its diaspora community in the Global North today. rvaldi01@mail.bbk.ac.uk
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Victoria vargas
Personally, my work is focused on the analysis of how cultural backgrounds have an influence on what is perceived as ‘heritage’ and how the re-creation of some ‘heritage practices’ in contemporary arts can work as strategies for their re-interpretation, adaptation and finally integration. I participated in the creation of the public events with curators and artists, for these series of events we started the discussion about the pannels thinking on the hegemony of the north and the need of a north, as an attempt of analysing critically the 'Neo Norte' and proposing a dialogue with more decolonised perspectives, our interest was focused on creating more questions in the audience rather than have definitive answers. While with the Khipu' Workshop we wanted to emphasise in other possibilities of writing and reading, offering the opportunity of re-signifying and recreating the khipus with a personalised meaning in dialogue with the materiality and the exhibition topics.
www.vdvictoriablog.wordpress.com/
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www.paulinafi.cargo.site/
instagram.com/babykarate
PAULINA FIGUEROA
I like to observe things and situations. I like to think, rethink and overthink about the things and situations I observe and then make work about it. My main resources are still and moving images, either created by me, appropriated or a mixture of both. Through them, I explore topics of otherness, language, translation and different social behaviours that catch my attention and evolve into a question which answer is not meant to be definite but is a way of understanding my surroundings. was born in Mexico City in 1991, while Iiving there I got a degree in Communications and Film Making, learned to take photographs, speak other languages and to train one of my dogs to high five. I worked as a junior photo editor for a travel magazine once but in this specific moment in life, I'm studying an MFA in Fine Arts at Goldsmiths University and wait tables at a Mexican restaurant.
www.paulinafi.cargo.site/
instagram.com/babykarate
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PUBLIC EVENTS CALENDAR •CARTONERAS WORKSHOP: 18th of September 6:30pm – 8pm at Exposed Arts Projects Facilitators: Rafael MC and Paulina Figueroa. •GUIDED VISIT: 25th September 6:30pm – 8pm at Exposed Arts Projects Curator: Tere Chad. •SEMINAR: DECOLONISATION BY DESIGN & LATINOS MANIFESTO PUBLICATION: 5th October 12noon – 1pm at Five Years, Unit 2B1, Boothby Rd, Upper Holloway, London N19 4AJ Speakers: Raúl Valdivia and Victoria Vargas. •KHIPU WORKSHOP: 13th October 11am – 1pm at Exposed Arts Projects Facilitator: Cindy Moreno. •FINISSAGE: 22nd October 6:30pm – 8pm at Exposed Arts Projects. •PANEL DISCUSSION: 11th November (venue and time to be confirmed). •CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS WINDOW EXHIBITION: 26th September – 11th November, at Window 3, Granary Building, 1 Granary Square, Kings Cross, London N1C 4AA.
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crossing borders Once one leaves 'Latin America' one continues crossing borders. Over the last two years, the Mexican publishing house ‘Editorial Facsimile’ has moved from Mexico City to London to foster collaboration with artists, designers and collectives that are linked to the Latin American identity concept or embedded in the territory. This publishing activity is aware of a resilient community of Latin Americans living abroad, which concerns in the most diverse way what does it means to be visible and to be proud of their identity in constant evolution. It is a constant challenge to open a multilingual dialogue and intersectional perspectives through publications and exhibitions in spaces and audiences that presume to be equal and inclusive. Addressing as individuals and collectives problems of misrepresentation, misunderstanding, among others in remarkable institutions. Language is pivotal in the areas of human rights protection, good governance, peace building, reconciliation, and sustainable development. 2019 is celebrated by UNESCO as the International Year of Indigenous Language. According to them ‘It is through language that we communicate with the world, define our identity, express our history and culture, learn, defend our human rights and participate in all aspects of society, to name but a few. Through language, people preserve their community’s history, customs and traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking, meaning and expression. They also use it to construct their future.
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neo norte 2 . 0 300 copies were published by Editorial Facsimile on the occasion of the exhibition ‘Neo Norte 2.0’ at Exposed Arts Project, London from 10th September to 22nd October 2019. All content is courtesy of the artists, researchers and curators. Teresa Paiva’s portrait by Daniel Castells and Blockfrei Curatorial team: Tere Chad, Stephanie Rodríguez, César Baracca 2019 © Editorial Facsimile Editorial design by Rafael Morales Cendejas Front cover by Tere Chad Printed in Guadalajara, Mexico. This publication may not be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any or by any reprographic reproduction only in accordance with the publisher. The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regards to the accuracy of the information contained in this catalogue and cannot accept any legal resposiblity or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made With special thanks to all donators and support by
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Credits: El Mercurio 16/8/18, Chile
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