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Alka domo
The following description was submitted by the event organizer.
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 Mapuche subject's social, cultural, and political status in contemporary Chilean society, 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 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 and 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 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 and at various public sites, representing the complex interaction between Mapuche and Chilean culture.
Opening 8/26, Noon – 4:00 p.m.