RIVER CLAURE @ Camara Oscura Art Gallery

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RIVER CLAURE @ Camara Oscura Art Gallery

March 6th, 2022 by fstop

RIVER CLAURE “Warawar Wawa”
26 March – 21 May 2022

Opening: Saturday 26th from 11 am to 2.30 pm

“According to Mathias Heibelg, River’s intent of rebuilding Bolivian identity through the photographic image in his series “Warawar Wawa” (Son of the stars), is not gratuitous. The innovative component of the project relies on the very starting point. River appropiates one of the foundational works of Western canon -“The Little Prince”, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery- and recodes it. From that moment onward, he creates new codes and icons that address the concept of Chi’xi, meaning “gray” in the Aymara language. River meets us in the middle of hegemonic and indigenous perspectives: he asserts the roots of the Aymara civilization, but also points to the global economical position of Bolivia through carefully placed aesthetic gestures. That is, he does not present us with an isolated land, a terra ignota, but rather he unveils the complex and rich cultural network of the region. Neither does he pretend to shift the previous system of representation entirely, filling in the gaps through visual cues that update the country’s identity instead. Borrowing a concept that is often applied to literary criticism, every text, or rather every symbol “is a testimonial of failure: that of attempting to establish something that is nothing more than pure circulation”. River’s work effectively demonstrates this transition.”

Camara Oscura Art Gallery
c/ Alameda, 16, 1º B
28014 Madrid

Location: Madrid, Spain Type: Exhibition

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