Cidade da Guatemala, 1974. Lives in Viena

Many of Sandra Monterroso’s objects, installations, performances and videos derive from a process of rapprochement with her genealogy and, in particular, with the women of her family. Like other artists of her generation, she belongs to a movement eager to recognize Guatemala and its indigenous roots, something long hampered by the civil war that raged from 1960 to 1996. This reappropriation of the local history and culture appears to be a form of resistance to the colonial legacy and the intensifying effects of global capitalism.

The work Columna vertebral y los rumbos cardinales [Vertebral Column and the Cardinal Points] is symptomatic of a return to traditional autochthonous knowledge and crafts. In this as yet unfinished project the artist endeavours to track down lost relatives, spend time with them and collect their traditional skirts. When these garments are folded and stacked they form not only a backbone, but a monument to her family, its traditions and the memories handed down through the generations. The artist hopes to erect five such columns, each in a specific colour and corresponding to one of the cardinal points of the Mayan cosmic cross. At Frestas, she presents two of these columns, one red and the other yellow, corresponding, respectively, to the east and south. Ties to her origins also feature strongly in Gestos decoloniales en polvo rojo [Decolonial Gestures in Red Dust], an installation made up of seven canvases covered in annatto, on which images are projected of the artist painting her own face with the same red powder, which in ritual contexts can symbolise the blood of one’s forebears.

[O.A.]

Obras

Gestos decoloniales en polvo
rojo [Gestos descoloniais em pó
vermelho], 2017
colorau, linho e vídeo
ASSISTÊNCIA DE PRODUÇÃO E
EDIÇÃO DE VÍDEO Mario Molina e
Carlos Guillermo Beachi

La venda, la herida 5 [A venda,
a ferida 5], 2017
aquarela, colorau, nanquim e
papel Warro

La venda, la herida 1 [A venda,
a ferida 1], 2016
aquarela, colorau, nanquim e
papel Warro

La venda, la herida 4 [A venda,
a ferida 4], 2016
aquarela, colorau, nanquim e
papel Warro

Imperfecciones 3
[Imperfeições 3], 2017
aquarela, colorau, nanquim e
papel Warro

Imperfecciones 5
[Imperfeições 5], 2017
aquarela, colorau, nanquim e
papel Warro

Columna vertebral roja [Columna
vertebral vermelha], 2016
87 telas em gama cromática
vermelha, cortes de Alta Verapaz
APOIO LOGÍSTICO EM ALTAVERAPAZ,
GUATEMALA María Flory Quim,
Maria Quim e Silvia Delgado Quim
ASSISTÊNCIA DE PRODUÇÃO NA
GUATEMALA Mario Molina