BIO
Patricia Esquivias (Caracas, Venezuela, 1979) explores how social relations come to be formed through symbolic mechanisms and narratives involving acts of exclusion or destruction. In her videos, drawings, photographs, sculptures and installations, she deconstructs hegemonic narratives in order to recreate them and rediscover lost stories. She has had solo exhibitions in Stacion (Pristina, Kosovo), CA2M (Móstoles) Marco (Vigo), Kunsthalle Winterthur (Switzerland); Hammer Museum (Los Angeles), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid) and White Columns (New York).
PROJECT
In Cardón cardinal, Esquivias turns her gaze on a giant cactus, Pachycereus Pringlei, 17 meters high and weighing 18 tons, that in 1992 traveled from the desert of Baja California to the garden of the Mexico Pavilion at the Universal Expo in Seville. The plant was later gifted to Seville City Council and stands today next to where the pavilion once stood. With this project, the artist wishes to give the cardon the attention it deserves and examine the history and the social and political circumstances that brought it to its present site. What role does the cactus play in the transmission of memories and the construction of collective narratives and experiences? The author will make a series of journeys to explore these themes and the video will be the documentation of her quest.