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MAL PASO (y otros senderos)

mal_paso

Santiago Montoya 
Espacio El Dorado
October 2017 – December 2017

MAL PASO (y otros senderos) is a three floor exhibition curated by José Luis Falconi presenting the works from Santiago Montoya that explore the myths surrounding “El Paso del Quindio”. The “Paso” is an arduous but strategic overpass in the Cordillera Central of the Andes, in the route that connected Bogotá with Popayan and other main cities in the central western region of the country. 

With this cumulous of fables and myths about it since very early on, this region secured a particular place in the Colombian imagination and, for the last two hundred years, has become a near perfect metaphor for the challenges and potential of the nascent republic. It represents both the intractability of the terrain and the Edenic and fertile ecosystems on which Colombia has been established. In other words, the “Paso” is perhaps the most definitive image metaphor for the curse of (natural) riches with which Colombia has been dealing since its inception. 

MAL PASO (y otros senderos)

And, for all these reasons, it should not come as a surprise that it serves as the foundational metaphor for artist Santiago’s Montoya first exhibit in his native Colombia in over a decade, Malpaso (and other routes). He has not only lived for years in Armenia, but has also structured his artistic practice on the exploration of value behind monetary transactions and cash itself. In that sense, just as his previous works, this one is also an exploration into the inherent fiction behind what one might find valuable.

Displayed across the three floors of the El Dorado building, which in turn comprise three major installations, each of them reinterpreting the experience of crossing a dubious path to riches and fortune, “Mal paso (y otros senderos),”aims to make its spectator question and reflect on the shortcomings and illusions of the Colombian national project. 

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Choreographed as an ascension out of hardship into a state of suspect grace and fortune, the show consists of three interlocking site-specific pieces —one on each floor—which, as stated, reinterpret the crossing of the “Paso del Quindio.” In that sense, the exhibition asks from its viewer to inhabit and traverse the strange space opened by the critical distance between the dreams of wealth and prosperity and the actual realities of their dreamers.

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MAL PASO (y otros senderos)

Santiago Montoya
Espacio El Dorado
October 2017 – December 2017

Espacio El Dorado and the Bachue Project presented  Malpaso (y otros senderos), a three floor exhibition curated by José Luis Falconi presenting the works from Santiago Montoya that explore the myths surrounding the Quindío Path, an arduous but strategic step in the Central Cordillera of the Andes on the route that connects Bogotá with Popayán and other major cities of the western central region of the country, originally used by indigenous communities, and maintained by Spanish conquistadors who crossed the region in look for the gold of the Quimbayas The exhibition asks the viewer to inhabit and cross this strange space opened by the critical distance between dreams of wealth and prosperity and the true realities of its dreamers.

More info

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MAL PASO (y otros senderos)

Santiago Montoya
Espacio El Dorado
October 2017 – December 2017

Espacio El Dorado and the Bachue Project presented  Malpaso (y otros senderos), a three floor exhibition curated by José Luis Falconi presenting the works from Santiago Montoya that explore the myths surrounding the Quindío Path, an arduous but strategic step in the Central Cordillera of the Andes on the route that connects Bogotá with Popayán and other major cities of the western central region of the country, originally used by indigenous communities, and maintained by Spanish conquistadors who crossed the region in look for the gold of the Quimbayas The exhibition asks the viewer to inhabit and cross this strange space opened by the critical distance between dreams of wealth and prosperity and the true realities of its dreamers.

More info