Closing Program: “Luma” by Catalina Tuca
When: Wed., Aug. 7, 2024 at 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Join us in the gallery for a special evening program to mark the culmination of the solo exhibition Luma by Catalina Tuca, mentored by Esperanza Mayobre. The event will include a performance by artist María Verónica San Martín, session by herbalist Antonia Estela Pérez, and food by chef Oscar Riquelme. These participatory engagements respond to the ideas in Tuca’s solo show in various ways.
María Verónica San Martín will present a performance as part of her ongoing project Dignidad, conceived of as a multimedia visual and sonic installation and associated activations. It explores the history of Colonia Dignidad, a colony in the south of Chile founded in 1961 by Paul Schäfer. Schäfer was a former Nazi soldier who left Germany to establish and solidify a community after World War II. Known for their association with the CIA-backed military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973–1990), leaders of Colonia Dignidad built an agricultural enclave that became a detention camp where minors were abused and hundreds of dissidents were tortured and murdered. Dignidad makes visible multilayered and institutional systems of violence in Chile and in the colony—now called Villa Baviera. Incorporating extensive archival research and interviews, San Martín utilizes performance to physically and metaphorically deconstruct and reconstruct latent structures of power. Beyond its shared geographic and political context, the work parallels that of Tuca in unveiling hidden narratives that create more expansive spaces for cultural understanding.
Antonia Estela Pérez, an herbalist, gardener, and educator, will present a session that shares plants from the south of Chile, where the luma tree—a central figure in Catalina Tuca’s show—lives. Considering the dichotomies of beauty and violence present in Tuca’s work, Pérez will discuss the symbologies these plants carry, highlighting practices of communing with the natural world that offer forms of resistance from oppression. They will also make and serve tea from these plants to guests in the gallery. The transformation of flora makes visible possibilities for engagement of resources in ways that are healing and regenerative to both human and non-human life. The session draws upon themes shared with Tuca’s practice, which explores the intersections between personal and collective memory. Pérez’s work is rooted in their passion for sharing knowledge that interrupts notions of individualism and separatism from nature, in order to grow toward collaborative and symbiotic communities.
Alongside the performance and session, chef Oscar Riquelme will present a communal style preparation of fish, grilled on the sidewalk outside of CUE’s gallery space and accompanied by seasonal vegetables inspired by Chiloé, where Tuca’s film—on view in the exhibition—takes place. Chiloé is an island in the south of Chile isolated from the mainland and known for its three national parks, cool and wet climate, vibrant agriculture, and the persistence of many indigenous cultural practices visible in local food, medicine, and domestic life. Charles Darwin visited the island while conceptualizing his theory of evolution; it is home to a diverse ecosystem of plant species native to the region since long before colonial exchange. There are, for example, 300 different names for potatoes grown in Chiloé, one of which has become the most widely cultivated variety of potato worldwide. Chef Riquelme draws upon this verdant landscape to prepare an informal sampling of shared plates that celebrate the land and its resources, highlighting the beauty of ingredients in their natural forms.
To accompany the performance and food will be gin by Patagonia-based distillery Tepaluma, natural wine from independent Chilean vineyards, and homemade pie by poet and artist Ana Anu.
Join us to celebrate Luma by Catalina Tuca and to come together in a collaborative space for reflection. The event will continue conversations from the exhibition that open up existing dichotomies between nature, humanity, beauty, and violence—aligning with the intent of Tuca’s practice to blur boundaries between the local and the global, the personal and the collective.
The event is free, and all are welcome.
To RSVP, see here.
Read more about the exhibition here.