This exhibition is positioned within the context of an extensive reassessment of critical conceptual artistic practices from the nineteen-sixties to eighties in Latin America (among other regions) as already explored by the Kunstverein in its 2009 exhibition Subversive Practices.
The Exhibition
Three installations that count among the artist’s key works constitute the focus of the exhibition, in addition to numerous graphic works and objects.
The installation Autoretrato. Estructura. Informe. 9.6.72 (Self-Portrait. Structure. Report. 9.6.1972), originally created in 1972, revolves around the measurability of the human being. Based upon medical examinations carried out on Burga’s own body (her face, blood, and heart) over the course of one day, the work presents photographs, diagrams, and various medical records (blood analysis, electro- and phono-cardiograms) that visualize the results. The sound of the artist’s heart accompanies them, its rhythm regulating the pulsation of a light sculpture.
Quatro Mensajes (Four Messages) from 1974 is in turn founded on “four messages” that the artist randomly extracted from Peruvian television. Burga disassembled their linguistic, auditory, and visual elements and subjected them to a radical realignment. Here the third message—a sentence from a discourse on environmental protection—is deconstructed on various levels at once: for instance, by replacing each individual word within the sentence with its respective lexical definition, or by turning individual letters into material for visual poetry.
The installation Perfil de la Mujer Peruana (Profile of the Peruvian Woman, 1980–1981) was created as part of a comprehensive artistic and sociological research project which dealt with the self-perception of young Peruvian women and with their views on topics such as politics, economics, religion, law, and sexuality.
This solo exhibition by Teresa Burga shows a radical and complex artistic position developed between the nineteen-sixties and eighties, one that long failed to be recognized either in Peru or in an international context. This new reassessment of Burga’s work is realized in the context of activities pursued by a broad network of Latin American art theorists and artists, who are presently embarking upon a rereading of the conceptualisms of the South (Southern Conceptualisms Network).
The exhibition is accompanied by a Spanish/English catalogue and a conference, which will take place during the exhibition’s opening weekend.
The exhibition is accompanied by a Spanish/English catalogue and a conference, which will take place during the exhibition’s opening weekend.
