A Space, “Made of the Same Blood”

Posted on September 11th, 2008 in Events, Performance Art, Visual Art.

Claudia_Bernal.jpgPerformance by Claudia Bernal
Made of the Same Blood

September 10 at 6pm, September 23 at 5:30pm
Duration of performances approximately 30 minutes

Claudia Bernal’s video installation and performance Made of the Same Blood addresses what is considered a collective drama in Colombia as well as in many other regions of the world: the forced displacement of entire communities as a result of armed conflicts and violence. Thousands of lives have been shattered in the incessant crossfire between right-wing paramilitary forces, drug cartels and left-wing guerrilla armies for over 50 years. Made of the Same Blood epitomizes the impact of such collective trauma – the threat not only of eviction but of extinction – and captures Aboriginal and African women’s struggling presence by incorporating fragmentation of space and elements from the area’s coastal region. Traces of isolation, movement, and uprooting are evoked by the artist.

Made of the Same Blood is part of an exhibition entitled Pilgrimage of Wanderers curated by Tamara Toledo with artists José Mansilla-Miranda, Osvaldo Ramirez Castillo and José Luis Torres.  Pilgrimage of Wanderers attempts to tackle a peripheral terrain of unexpected arrivals and departures by not only presenting a graphic spectacle of trauma, but by leaving an imprint of the ordeal of violence. Attached to memory and inspired by a distant place, the artists share a humble yet fervid voice determined to pursue redemption. Through performance, video, installation, sculpture and drawing the artist’s address and embody issues of mobility, displacement, nomadism, and exile. In essence, Pilgrimage of Wanderers explores core political and religious dogmas destined to navigate new contexts and realities, on a voyeuristic quest in response trauma.

Exhibition runs from September 5th to October 10th, 2008

Co-presented with Salvador Allende Arts Festival for Peace http://www.allendefestival.com

Biographies:

Claudia Bernal is a Montreal-based performance video installation artist. She earned an MA in Modern and Contemporary Art at Casa LAMM-Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Mexico, a BFA at the Université du Québec a Montréal-UQAM, an MA in French Linguistics at Université Laval, Quebec and studied Philology at la Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bernal has exhibited her work in Canada, Colombia, Mexico and Cuba and has received numerous grants for her artistic merit.

Tamara Toledo is a practicing visual artist, community arts-based educator and curator. Toledo completed an MFA at York University and is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art & Design. She is co-founder and Visual Arts Director of the Salvador Allende Arts Festival for Peace. Recent recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts Assistance to Culturally Diverse Curators Grant for Residencies in the Visual Arts, Toledo has curated several group exhibitions and has participated in numerous curatorial and visual art conferences. During her residency, Toledo organized the Latin American Speakers Series, culminating with Gerardo Mosquera’s first visit to Canada for a series of tutorials and lectures at various educational institutions.

Made of the Same Blood  has been funded by the Canada Council for the Arts

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