Seba Calfuqueo
(Santiago, Chile)
Alka domo
Co-presented with Converge 45
Seba Calfuqueo: Alka domo & Flowing Like Waterfalls is curated by Christian Viveros-Fauné and organized by Converge 45 and its institutional partners as part of its 2023 citywide exhibition Social Forms: Art As Global Citizenship.
Program Details
Alka domo
Dates: August 24 - September 24, 2023
Opening: August 26, 12:00-4:00 pm
Gallery Hours: 12:00 – 6:00 pm Thursday and Friday / 12:00 – 4:00 pm Saturday and Sunday
Flowing Like Waterfalls
Performance: August 26, 3:30 pm
Seba Calfuqueo with Malcolm Peacock, Vo Vo, and moderator Derek Franklin
Panel Discussion: August 29 at 6:00 pm
ACCESS
PICA’s Annex is on the ground floor and is accessible to those with mobility aids. ADA-accessible, gender-neutral restrooms and a water cooler are located inside. If you have questions about accessibility, you can contact us at boxoffice@pica.org or call 503-224-PICA.
DESCRIPTION
Seba Calfuqueo (b. 1991, Santiago, Chile) is an internationally celebrated artist of Indigenous Mapuche origin. Their work appeals to their Indigenous inheritance to propose critical reflections on the social, cultural, and political status of the Mapuche subject in contemporary Chilean society, in Latin America and the world. Calfuqueo’s work marshals, among other elements, installation, ceramic, performance, and video art to explore the cultural similarities, differences, and stereotypes produced by the melding of Indigenous and Western ways of thinking. Their work often starts from the broad field of performance art, but also extends into videos that are often exhibited later and sometimes together with elements used in the action itself.
Calfuqueo’s ongoing research also proposes to make visible issues connected to feminism as well as sexual dissidence. In addition to their artistic practice, the artist also belongs to the feminist collectives Mapuche Rangiñtulewfü and Yene Revista, and has collaborated in publishing texts in the Mapuche language, working towards its stimulation and preservation.
Alka domo is a video installation and performative work that recontextualizes a story about Caupolicán, the legendary toki of the Mapuche, Chile’s largest Indigenous community. A toki symbolizes strength and perseverance in the face of adversity. Caupolicán led the Mapuche army in an uprising against the Spanish conquistadors lasting from 1553 to 1558. Caupolicán was elected military leader by the Mapuche people of Chile after holding a log on his shoulders for two days and one night. Today, his name is a symbol of Native American resistance.
In Alka domo, Seba Calfuqueo holds a hollowed-out tree trunk above their head at places of personal history and significance to the artist as well as at various public sites, representing the complex interaction between Mapuche and Chilean culture.
In addition to this major video installation, Calfuqueo will also present the performance Flowing Like Waterfalls (2022-2023) on August 26 at 3:30 pm.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Seba Calfuqueo are from Mapuche origin. Their work appeals to their inheritance to propose a critical reflection on the social, cultural, and political status of the Mapuche subject in contemporary Chilean society and Latin America. It includes installations, ceramics, performances, and video art that explore cultural similarities, differences, and the stereotypes produced by the cross between Indigenous and Western ways of thinking. Their research also aims to make visible feminist and sexual dissidence issues. Seba Calfuqueo is part of the Mapuche collective Rangitulewf, which edits YeneRevista, an online magazine of art, thought, and writing in Wallmapu and AbyaYala language.