Created by two of Latin America’s leading artists—José Luis Falconi from Peru and Santiago Montoya from Colombia—Bittersweet expands upon an earlier collaboration that the pair carried out in Colombia, entitled “El Dorado Chocolaterie”.

This reference to the foundational myth of “El Dorado,” that elusive city where everything was covered in gold, derives from the earliest days of colonization in the 16th century when countless explorers mounted expeditions in search of it.

Over the years, the myth has served as an allegory for the ongoing search for and exploitation of Colombia’s immense natural wealth, and as a symbol for the get-rich-quick schemers who traffic in its resources—from gold to quinoa, emeralds to cocaine. Sure to attract the attention of critics and art-lovers from Somerville and beyond, Bittersweet reimagines the elusive paradise of gilded beings long sought by South American explorers. Instead of a city of gold, however, these explorers will enter into a subconscious world of sweets; a Museum that has been transformed into an enormous chocolate factory, where the visitor’s time is exchanged for a hot cup of cocoa.

The Tally Sticks used to display the chocolate sculptures in Bittersweet were sourced and masterfully carved in Cerro de Armas, in the Santander region of the Colombian rainforest, using only naturally uprooted or already decaying trees. The project represents a culmination of Santiago’s views on the sustainability of society and the fragility of our financial and socio-political infrastructure.  More Info