It's the first solo exhiibit in Italy dedicated to the Chilean artist
On April 29th, the Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea will introduce the work of poet, artist, filmmaker and activist Cecilia Vicuña. Born in Santiago, Chile she also lived in London, Bogota and New York City. She is widely exhibited, authored over 30 books of art and poetry in USA, Europe and Latin America. In 2022, she was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime achievement at the 56th Venice Biennale. This will be her first solo exhibit in an Italian museum.
Since the 1960’s, Vicuña’s has created sculptural installations she refers to as Arte Precario. She describes them as “fragile, ephemeral and site specific, works that address ecology, memory and political resistance”. The installations vary in scale from small to monumental many are temporary sculptures made to vanish, worn by elements such as wind and water.
They are metaphors or ecological discourse focused on our disappearing ecosystems and what she refers to as the “terminal death of nature”. Her pallet is an array of found natural elements such as wood fragments, stones, shells, feathers and the like often gathered by the community surrounding the project. Their involvement, she hopes, will help build a sense of community. A community that becomes an “impending resistance” against ecological destruction and social injustice.
Her role is to record, to weave the found elements into a three dimensional poem in space, to create a quipu “that mourn loss while celebrating life”.
In 2022, she was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 59th Venice Biennale
A quipu is an ancient Andean Inca knot-based record-keeping system consisting of cord with knotted strings of various colors attached to record events, keeping account etc.
Surrounded by video works, songs and sound, the center piece of “El glacier ido” is a site specific work commissioned by Manica Lunga, realized by Vicuña.
This monumental aerial quipu acostado, spans the longitudinal character of the building, it is “a horizontal installation suspended at multiple heights.”
Paralleled strands of unspun wool, some with knots others without, tell a story, record the passage of time and reflect upon the existence of man in his environment and the marks he leaves behind. Seeing and reading this history should help us remember to be more respectful and appreciative.
Man must be committed to foster nature’s rejuvenation in lieu of its destruction. He must always remember he is only one part of the whole, a transient element in a fragile ecosystem.
“El glacier ido” is “a narrative account of the existence/disappearance of the Valle di Susa’s glaciers”. It is an immersive installation woven by Vicuña but united with its environment by the play of light and shadow it cast on the floor and the walls. The visitor, a transient part of the installation, a reminder of the ephemeral nature of the whole.
El glaciar ido, surrounded by videos, songs, and sounds, is a site-specific work commissioned specifically for this exhibition
