Patagonian Desert: contemporaneity and colonialism
Every itinerary comprises three parts:
The first part consist in the artist’s journey itself. The concept of the journey is defined by Maria Rebecca Ballestra as research method in which she physically and psychologically confronts conditions of the environment, therefore she explores and experiences possibilities of divers viewpoints and processes.
The second part is formed of an artistic production indicating the insights, experience and research result Ballestra made during the journeys.
In the third part is invited a researcher to contribute with a written text regarding the geopolitical or anthropological contexts of the corresponding desert.
The Patagonian Desert is the largest desert in Argentina and is the 4th largest desert in the world by area. It is located primarily in Argentina with small parts in Chile and is bounded by the Andes, to its west, and the Atlantic Ocean to its east, in the region of Patagonia, southern Argentina. To the north the desert grades into the semi-aridCuyo region and the Dy and Humid Pampas. The central parts of the steppe are dominated by shrubby and herbaceous plant species albeit to the west, where precipitation is higher, bushes are replaced by grasses………
The work Imaginary Atlas is composed by different installations based on the socio historical topics, juxtaposing the colonial acquisition of territory, the installation of euro-centric values and political organizations; and the import of crops, which are intensively cultivated for exportation with the experience and perspective of colonial history of indigenous population and their description of the territories and plants within. Inspired by the book of Italian anthropologist Emanuela Guano (Professor of Urban Anthropology at Georgia State University, USA), Imaginando Buenos Aires, …
Contralmirante Cordero is a small village of around 1000 people where take place the Residency Program Barda del Desierto, an independent platform that seeks to motivate the artistic experience through the creation of visual works linkeded to the context, history and geography of the place. National and international artists are selected avery years, trought an international open call to generate artistic and cultural projects. Artists are invited to reside in this rural area for a month to reflect, imagine and think art indpired by the immensity of the Patagonian desert, from its local history and its cultural landscape. For almost a month the artists live and work in the local School No. 135 of Contralmirante Cordero, turning it into a home and a space of artistic creation.