In the fall of 2022, my work was included in the exhibition Naturaleza Común in Bogotá Colombia. The exhibition is on view at El Centro de Memoria, Paz y Reconciliación, a cultural center that honors victims of violence and conflict. Co-curated by Dr. George Rivera and Jair Montana, this exhibition tasked the participating artists to research and respond to/interpret ongoing environmental issues/crises specific to Colombia.
With my work, At What Cost?, I asked about cost. I incorporated Colombian pesos into an anonymous image of a woman in water. In 2020, Colombia reported the highest number of murdered (read- assassinated) environmental defenders per capita, in the world, ever - 227 in one year. Many of them were Indigenous leaders, and many were women. Last year, at least 138 environmental defenders and social leaders were murdered. This work honors them and points to the failure of the Colombian state to successfully protect its people and environment.
View a video of the opening reception for Naturaleza Común here.
Now, the show will be traveling to three additional venues in Colombia in 2023! It will be shown at Comunidad Uitoto Manuca de la Chorrera Amazonas in La Chorrera, where several tribes and schools/children will be transported to view the works, then at Artificio Gallery in Villaviciencio, and finally at the Alcadia Galeria de Arte, also in Villaviciencio.
Please consider donating to the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). You can do so here.
