Opening wednesday December 29th
Visits: Tuesday to Sunday from 10:30 am to 6:30 pm. Mobility pass (national vaccination certificate) is required for admission, in accordance with the health authority. Free admission, prior reservation at cclm.cl.
The forest remains central to the creations of the indigenous Nivaclé and Guaraní artists of the Paraguayan Chaco, although their ways of life were profoundly transformed two generations ago due to multiple processes of colonization. Animals, trees and human livelihood activities are recurring topics in these forms of expression. They present an animated world, where humans and non-humans coexist, communicate, interact and maintain close bonds.
The drawings and paintings in this exhibition also give a non-verbal account of processes of conversion, compulsory assimilation and the ongoing experience of discrimination and exclusion. The Chaco War (1932-1935) culminated in the dispossession of territories and the loss of the autonomy of the native peoples who inhabited this region. The artistic works of these communities allude to the changes in their livelihood practices, the forced sedentism of these peoples in missions and the exploitation of workers as a result of salaried labour, circumstances that even today continue to shape their precarious living conditions.
Over 1000 hectares a day are currently being cleared in the Chaco to make way for cattle breeding and industrial agriculture. This massive deforestation alters and threatens coexistence in this territory. In a present marked by the loss and destruction of the environment, drawing and commemorating life in the forest takes on greater importance. These works reflect the resilience of peoples and the persistence of ways of understanding their environment. They prove that life is created and maintained through communication and respectful interactions between beings that share the same world.
