Unerasable Memories

Curated by Agustín Pérez Rubio, the new director of Malba (Argentina), the show "Unerasable Memories – A Historic Look at the Videobrasil Collection" looks back on controversial and conflictual episodes based on the personal perspectives of renowned artists from Brazil and abroad, Jonathas de Andrade, Rosangela Rennó, Akram Zaatari, Bouchra Khalili, Coco Fusco e Leon Ferrari. It features works that help retrieve events and conflicts often interpreted based on the official versions of those who came out the victors, yet still resist in personal narratives made public through art. Following a guests-only opening on August 30, 2014, "Unerasable Memories – A Historic Look at the Videobrasil Collection" will remain open from August 31 to November 30 at Sesc Pompeia (São Paulo, Brazil). Enabled by a 20-year-plus partnership between Associação Cultural Videobrasil and Sesc São Paulo, the show is a continuation of the major international exhibits held in São Paulo in-between Festival editions, featuring pieces by artists of the likes of Joseph Beuys, Olafur Eliasson, Isaac Julien, Peter Greenaway and Sophie Calle. However, Unerasable Memories is a watershed event, since it is the first major exhibit based on the Videobrasil Collection currently consisted of over 3,000 titles, including publications, documents and approximately 1,300 video works produced from the 1980's onwards, by artists from the Geopolitical South of the world — Videobrasil's curatorial focus, comprised by countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, South and Southeast Asia, and Oceania. From an immersion into this complex and assorted universe, Agustín Pérez selected works sharing themes such as state violence, political borders and prejudice. Unerasable Memories – A Historic Look at the Videobrasil Collection also includes artworks such as O Sangue da Terra, by Aurélio Michiles (Brazil), that addresses abuse and despise towards the indigenous community; Barrueco, by Ayrson Heráclito & Danillo Barata (Brazil), which portrays the slave trade period between Africa, Brazil, and other countries; Contestado, a Guerra Desconhecida, by Enio Staub (Brazil), on the early 20th century agrarian struggles; Unforgettable Memory, by Liu Wei (China), on the Tiananmen Massacre; Lucharemos Hasta Anular la Ley, by Sebastian Diaz-Morales (Argentina), on the media overexposure of social conflicts; and A Letter to My Father – Standing by the Fence, by Carlos Motta (Colombia), about the attacks on September 11. The show also features work by Luiz de Abreu (Brazil), Vincent Carelli (from France, in partnership with Dominique Gallois, from Belgium), Dan Halter (Zimbabwe), Mwangi Hutter (Kenya), and Rabih Mroué (Lebanon) . For the duration of the exhibition, meetings with artists, curators and researchers will also take place as part of the Public Programs, a set of strategies employed by Videobrasil to boost and extend the show's reach. visiting | August 31 to November 30, 2014 For further information, visit the link: Videobrasil Collection - http://site.videobrasil.org.br/en/acervo