SEBA CALFUQUEO: THE VOICE OF THE RIVER

Seba Calfuqueo (1991) presents The Voice of the River, a solo exhibition in Sala 2 at Galeria Marilia Razuk, from the 21st of October to the 16th of December 2023. The show features different artistic languages and techniques used by the artist, including performance videos, drawings, and ceramic works, all with the “river” as a starting point, based on indigenous worldviews in South America and on the intervention of hydroelectric projects on riverbeds. The exhibition presents stories of connection and defense of rivers, from the Mapuche people to connections with indigenous peoples in the Amazon.

The Voice of the River presents two video performances by Seba Calfuqueo, TRAY TRAY KO, made in 2022, and Kowkülen, from 2020. Both approach issues concerning the privatization of water in Chile, from Pinochet’s dictatorship to the present day, and how this has had an impact on the environment, politics, and territories. Seba Calfuqueo also presents recent drawings and ceramics, referencing extractive projects and hydroelectric plants that, beyond having an environmental impact, disrespect indigenous worldviews, which define territory as part of their own bodies.

This solo exhibition The Voice of the River will take place in parallel with the 22nd Bienal Sesc_Videobrasil| 40-Year Special, titled A Memória é Uma Ilha de Edição [Memory is an Editing Station], in which Seba Calfuqueo will also take part.

“My work is realized through installations, ceramics, drawing, photography, performance, and video, with the objective of exploring cultural similarities and differences, as well as the stereotypes that arise at the intersection of global and indigenous ways of thinking.” Statement by Seba Calfuqueo.

About Seba Calfuqueo

Seba Calfuqueo (She/They, Santiago, Chile, 1991) is a visual artist and curator, living and working in Santiago, Chile. They are a member of the collective Mapuche Rangiñtulewfu and of Revista Yene. Calfuqueo has a BA and MA in Visual Arts from the Universidad de Chile.

Of Mapuche origin, Calfuqueo’s work draws on their cultural heritage as a starting point to critically reflect on the social, cultural, and political status of the Mapuche individual in contemporary Chilean society. Their work includes installations, ceramics, performances, and videos, seeking to explore the cultural similarities and differences, as well as stereotypes, that exist at the intersection of indigenous and Western ways of thinking. They also aim to give visibility to issues of feminism and queer theory.

Calfuqueo’s work is included in important collections including at the Centre Pompidou (France), Museu MALBA (Argentina), Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza (Spain), KADIST collection (France), Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Rio Grande do Sul - MAC RS (Brazil), Museu Nacional de Bellas Artes (Chile), and MAC (Chile), among others. They participated in the 34th Bienal de São Paulo, the 12th Bienal do Mercosul, and the 22nd Bienal Paiz (Guatemala)

Seba Calfuqueo received the Prêmio Municipalidad de Santiago in 2017 and the Prêmio Fundación FAVA in 2018. In 2021, they were awarded bt Eyebeam’s Fractal Fellowships and, in 2023, by the Fundación Ama Amoedo’a FAARA.