The end of explicit colonization in America ushered in a new era where domination and marginalization were, and still are, self-perpetuating. Discrimination in different ways, some more evident, some more hidden, has used economic and symbolic mechanisms to impregnate society, stigmatizing entire populations for reasons of race, ethnicity and nationality, depending on the dimensions of the historical and political context.
Frictions is an artistic essay which takes as its starting point Bolivia, a country wounded by a colonial past which deeply scarred both people’s bodies and memories. The exhibition also looks further field to similar problems affecting segments of the population in different countries in the region.
It is impossible to separate present-day Bolivian society from its colonial history, one dominated by ethnic and racial discrimination where the “white men” (Europeans and subsequently creoles) established their version of events, involving the control and ownership of the land and means of production. For years, Bolivia turned its back on its indigenous roots, but in more recent times, the country has begun to reconstruct its past.
Circling this central issue are other nuclei of meaning which have branded Latin American history, not only where the indigenous population is concerned, but others too, such as the black Africans who were brought here as slaves and who to this day still suffer from different forms of discrimination.
