Collaborative Laboratory of Contemporary Art in Lima
Led by Martin Gustavsson and Rodrigo Gómez Olivos
Application deadline: Monday, 17 February 2020
Participants Selection: Monday, 24 February 2020
Daniel de la Barra
Jacqueline Gomez
Jaime Enrique Prada
Carla Reyes
Daniel Roque
Federico Tibiezas
Giancarlo Valverde
Raul Vargas
Krizia Zurita
HACIENDO CONTEXTO IV, the Collaborative Laboratory of Contemporary Art directed by Martin Gustavsson and Rodrigo Gómez Olivos and presented by Proyecto AMIL adapts to the difficult situation we live in and reinvents itself to work together, but remotely, with this year´s selected artists.
Pop Violence and the Costumbrismo of Pancho Fierro is the title of this year´s edition of the laboratory. It proposes an analysis of the current political violence in South America through popular culture and the archetypes present in Pancho Fierro’s watercolors as a cultural signifier capable of introducing new understandings and influences into cultural production. In addition to this discussion, we will introduce the debate on art and the problems of how to see the world in the current context.
The dictionary defines the English word pop as a short, sharp action, an apocope of popular. Pop as we know it references art, style, music, and fashion from the fifties up until now. It is also onomatopoeic in its description of a short sharp sound. Like popping a cork. An everyday sound.
Pop culture grew out of everyday street life in music, graffiti, advertising, and youth culture. In this respect, it shares some aspects of the costumbrismo in the work of Pancho Fierro, the Afro-Peruvian artist in Lima in the 19th century.
In his watercolors, Fierro records scenes of Lima society at the republic’s beginning, from commercial activity, customs, traditions, and street life, to the most distinctive characters of all social classes, including their differences and even violence still present in South America. It is on the street where the incredible mix of people and cultures occurs in terms of sexuality, race, lineage, and other factors that determined social status and create different power structures some of which remain to the present day.
In order to work on these issues in a virtual way, we have decided to use the concept of the cadavre exquis (exquisite corpse)as a form of collaborative digital work whose purpose is to show a chain of events, thoughts, stories, or simply the day-to-day. Participants will have discussions among themselves and with guests from different practices and will share different types of materials such as short videos, drawings, etc. so that they can learn about the daily lives of others in the spirit of Pancho Fierro. The idea is that this effort contributes to joint work, taking advantage of the technology at hand, and adapting to this strange global isolation moment.
Collaborative work can take many routes depending on the dynamics and interests of each of the artists in the group. In fact, participants are encouraged to investigate their personal archives and experiences in relation to the subject, while exploring the different forms of art-making together, and therefore, building a network.
It is essential that the participants commit to the laboratory in terms of time and effort. Proyecto AMIL will cover the domestic flights, accommodation, and expenses of the artists coming from Peruvian cities outside of Lima.
Week 1 – Portfolio presentation and discussion about the current artistic production in the local and international context.
Week 2 – Finding materials and planning the works. Interviews with curators and professionals with expertise in the field
Week 3 – Production week
Week 4 – Opening of the HACIENDO CONTEXTO IV exhibition at Proyecto AMIL
Martin Gustavsson (Sweden, 1964) lives and works in London and Stockholm. Gustavsson attended The Royal University College of Fine Art in Stockholm, Sweden, and Middlesex University, UK. His works have been exhibited in Scandinavia, the UK, Japan, the US, and the Middle East. Recent solo exhibitions include El Mirage (2015), Participant Inc., New York; Indentations (2013), Maria Stenfors, London; In No Particular Order (2010), Maria Stenfors, London, Gothenburg Museum of Art, Sweden; Wrath of God (2007-2008), Oslo Kunstforening, Norway and Brändström & Stene, Stockholm. In 2018 he participated in the collective exhibition l’Heure Rouge at the Dakar Biennial. He is a Senior Lecturer of painting at Konstfack in Stockholm, Sweden, and held the IASPIS residencies in New York (1999-2000) and Stockholm (2007).
Rodrigo Gómez Olivos (Chile, 1986) is a self-taught artist. Some of his latest projects include: He ahí la ejecución, Proyecto AMIL (2017); Acúnandote of Sick! Proyecto AMIL (2016); Saints & Fuckers (Collaborative Installation with Martín Gustavsson and María Abaddon), Proyecto AMIL (2016); Indumentum, Centro Cultural de la Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes, Lima (2015). In 2018 he participated in In No Particular Order, a performance organized by Martin Gustavsson at Sprigg Gallery in London.
Proyecto AMIL is a fluid, non-commercial contemporary art platform based in Lima. It supports pioneering local and international projects while functioning as a space of encounter in which the public can engage with critical content. It has an experimental and collaborative public program that materializes in discussions, workshops, screenings, performances, and publications. Proyecto AMIL has two residency programs; one in Peru and one in Switzerland.
