C.J. Chueca – “Micaela”

Reception: October 23th

_VIGILGONZALES Sacred Valley | Jr. Grau 654

VIGIL GONZALES is pleased to present MICAELA: La sangre de todas, a solo exhibition by artist C.J. Chueca (Lima, 1977), in our galleries in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. MICAELA: La sangre de todas, is an exhibition conceived within the framework of the artist's interest in the imaginary of Micaela Bastidas (Tamburco, 1744 - Cuzco, 1781), the construction of her role as a leader in the struggle for independence, and above all the significance of her participation as a synonym of legend in the fight against colonial oppression and exploitation. It is worth mentioning that Bastidas was tortured and brutally murdered in the Plaza de Armas in Cusco.

This exhibition project seeks to connect with the figure of Micaela Bastidas, of Amerindian roots, who can come to embody new old issues that concern women of different historical times. These struggles, like those of other women, have sought change. On the one hand, colonial defeat, but on the other, to change a history written by men.

The exhibition consists of three chapters. The first is surrounded by a massive red tinged through the works and the coloration of natural light. Upon entering, one sees Micaela washing herself in a river of blood, looking at the viewer with an intrusive gaze. To the side, a deep red broken wall is shown and on the floor, a snake that the artist titles "Mestiza" in reference to Micaela Bastidas' Hispanic-African and indigenous origins. The second room is presented as a transitional space, pale and naked. It shows 3 skins stretched on aluminum frames. These are arranged in such a way that they allude to the Apus (mountains). On the floor, other snakeskin molts can be found, which refer to leaving something behind, entering a new period of life, to a renewal. It seems that the spirit of Micaela has inhabited everything around us, the ground, the air, the earth, but her possession is like a murmur this time, we cannot see her but we know she is here. In the third room, the water rises. We see Micaela again, entering a whirlpool of water. 

But is she entering or is she leaving? Is she leaving for good or coming back? She has become water and water is always unstoppable.