Construction of the Cities of Memory

Ernesto Bautista

For Construction of the Cities of Memory, Ernesto Bautista interviewed some of his closest friends, asking them about the first houses they lived in, or the first houses they lost. Based on these oral histories, the artist created a 3D rendering of a virtual city with all the houses his friends remember, houses that no longer exist for them, but exist again in this new alternative reality. The project refers to houses from the past that were once the homes of his friends and are now just a memory—houses that were lost due to forced displacements, divorces, violence, or even changes like new family members. Bautista’s virtual city grows with every new house that his friends tell him about, capturing what is important to them about these homes, and how all of us relate to spaces and objects. It shows how our bodies find comfort in a room, a couch, a person. Construction of the Cities of Memory is a portrait of the most intimate space we have, our home. The work encourages us to think about who we were in the past and how we will construct new memories in our current spaces.

Ernesto Bautista works and produces in El Salvador, Colombia, and Mexico. Founder member of The Fire Theory. For Bautista the image is a mental construction. He pointsto a series of connections since the use of recognizable signs from their immediate perception to acquire through their interactions, new connotations and human dimensions, through a scheme that defines a complex situation of mismatch. He seeks for a dialogue through contrasts related with what at first glance may seem contradictory or absurd, but at the same time can be a poem or a speech on the restructured element itself.

Josseline Pinto (1996, Guatemala) is an independent curator, educator and poet based in Guatemala City. Co-founder and director of the independent space MANIFESTO-espacio. She is currently an educational curator for Fundación Nacional para las BellasArtes y la Cultura FUNBA. She also teaches Art History at La Fototeca and at the Escuela Municipal de Artes Visuales. Previously, she co-coordinated the art education program Laboratorio de Arte Contemporáneo at Fundación Paiz. Her essays are published in the book “Darío Escobar Ensayos Dispersos” (2019) and “Agentes Culturales” (2016), as well as in magazines such as Arte al Día, Artishock, Revista Gimnasia and esQuisses. She’s also written for independent projects such as Residencia Chichicaste and the 20Bienal de Arte Paiz catalogue. She’s worked before as assistant for curator Alma Ruiz during the 20Bienal and in galleries such as The 9.99 Gallery and Proyectos Ultravioleta. Her recent curatorial projects include: Ernesto Bautista: “Un vacío infinito llenándose con la memoria” at Galería Valenzuela Klenner in Bogotá, Colombia (2019), the group show “Después de mí el sueño” at MANIFESTO-espacio (2018); Jason Mena: Victoria sobre el sol (2017), among others. As a poet, she’s also published Objetos1 (2017),Sión Editorial and Cartas Íntimas (2015), Chuleta de Cerdo Editorial; and in anthologies from El Salvador, México and Guatemala. She was selected for the program “Programa de Formación Curatorial” at TEOR/éTica, Costa Rica and for the “Curatorial Intensive Mexico City”, Independent Curators International. She was also part of the 3rd edition of “Escuela de Crítica de Arte”, La Tallera, Cuernavaca, México in 2017. Her work revolves around the study and manifestation of the poetic image and the artistic process as a tool for educational mediation.

Notes for Tomorrow is a traveling exhibition organized and produced by Independent Curators International (ICI) and initiated by Frances Wu Giarratano, Jordan Jones, Becky Nahom, Renaud Proch, and Monica Terrero. The exhibition was made possible with the generous support of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, VIA Art Fund and ICI’s Board of Trustees and International Forum.
 

We are on Treaty 1 Territory. Plug In ICA is located on the territories of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and the homeland of the Métis Nation. Our water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation.

Plug In ICA extends our heartfelt gratitude to our generous donors, valued members, and dedicated volunteers. We acknowledge the sustaining support of our Director’s Circle. You all make a difference.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Canada Council, the Manitoba Arts Council and Winnipeg Arts Council. We could not operate without their continued financial investment and lobbying efforts.

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For more information on public programming and exhibitions contact Allison Yearwood at allison@plugin.org.

For general information, please contact: info@plugin.org or call 1.204.942.1043