Contornos + La Trama

Contornos

The video Contornos [Contours, 2014], filmed in Cerro de Pasco and its surroundings, observes forms of space demarcation and the subtle privatization process of the natural surroundings. The video records different fences and barriers found in the city—some placed in an interim fashion, others presented as a limit between mining operations and public space, some vulnerable, others aggressive and impenetrable. Through the span of several minutes, the camera guides us along a persistent limit of which we remain always on the outside. The audio contains excerpts of a conversation with Alcibiades Cristóbal, who grew up and continues to live in the National Huayllay Sanctuary, a rock formation forest in the outskirts of Cerro de Pasco. Alcibiades guides us through Huayllay, describing the geological formations and alluding to a cultural past that is gradually disappearing, while the ground itself and its layers of history are literally being removed.

La Trama

Reminiscent of minimalist works, particularly the metal floor pieces by Carl Andre, La Trama represents a woven mat. Traditionally manufactured with straw or reed, this work was produced with thin strips of copper. Moving away from the characteristics of minimalism and its precision of the industrial finish and modular elements, La Trama presents the material as part of an interrelated system. In the weave, the warmth that characterizes the artisanal work is reflected, projecting a history and a social context. The use of copper as raw material to discuss traditional forms of labor suggests a re-appropriation of natural resources, thus acquiring a symbolic dimension. The physical properties of the copper, from its conductivity and malleability to its ability to form a “shape memory” alloy (a metal that returns to its original shape when exposed to certain conditions) are poetically linked to cultural memory, as seen in the artisanal practices of different eras that have made use of the metal’s special physical properties.