Performance Series: Cu-tter by Seba Calfuqueo

In tandem with the exhibition El Dorado: Myths of Gold, Art at Americas Society is proud to present the debut performance of Cu-tter, by Seba Calfuqueo as part of our Performance Series. It will take place on Wednesday, November 29, from 6 to 8 pm ET, in person at Americas Society. The performance will also stream live on this website. A reception will follow the program.

Join us Wednesday, November 29, 2023, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm ET

Americas Society

680 Park Ave.

New York, NY

Registration required to attend in person.

RVSP HERE

This event is free and open to the public.

About the Work 

Copper is a metal that various cultures have appropriated and used since the beginning of human settlements, from decorative to functional. This metal is a conductive material, that is, it allows electricity to be conducted, making it  one of the most common materials in technological objects since modernity. In the Chilean context, copper is presented as a symbol of power, considered the favorite material of the economy, signifying the "progress" of the country in its export of national goods. 

The performance Cu-tter makes historical links between copper and humanity, from indigenous worldviews and large-scale extractive projects that contaminate the earth. The performance piece links the extraction of copper to the suffering of the body and the territory, to the areas of sacrifice resulting from the contamination of economic “progress.” 

This public program is supported by the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage of Chile.

Part I of the El Dorado: Myths of Gold exhibition will be on display from September 6 through December 16, 2023, and Part II will take place from January 24 through May 18, 2024.

About the Artist 

Seba Calfuqueo (She/They, Santiago de Chile, 1991), is a visual artist and curator at Espacio 218. They live and work in Santiago de Chile and are part of the Mapuche collective Rangiñtulewfü and Yene Revista. 

As a Mapuche artist, their work recurs to their cultural heritage as a starting point in order to propose a critical reflection on the social, cultural, and political status of the Mapuche subject within contemporary Chilean society. Their work includes installation, ceramics, performance and video, with the aim of exploring the cultural similarities and differences between the crossing of indigenous and Western ways of thinking, as well as their stereotypes. Their goal is also to make the issues regarding feminism and queer theory visible. 

Their work is part of the Centre Pompidou (France) Denver Art Museum (USA), Museo MALBA (Argentina), Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (Spain), KADIST collection (France), Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Rio Grande do Sul – MAC RS (Brazil), Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Chile) and MAC (Chile). They participated in the 34th Bienal de São Paulo, 12th Bienal de Mercosur and 22th Bienal Paiz. 

They are winner of the Municipalidad de Santiago Award in 2017 and Fundación FAVA Award in 2018. In 2021 they were awarded by Eyebeam’s Fractal Fellowships and in 2023 by Fundación Ama Amoedo’a FAARA. 

Artist's Statement

 “My artistic practice, as a Mapuche and trans artist, is characterized by critically questioning the binaries of the colonial order and its consequences within both indigenous and global societies. Likewise, I am interested in addressing the study of race, gender, social class, as well as themes that demonstrate territorial and environmental conflicts through the review of their political, social and cultural implications. 

My work is executed through installation, ceramics, drawing, photography, performance and video, with the aim of exploring both cultural similarities and differences as well as stereotypes that occur at the intersection of indigenous and global modes of thought.” 

“Mi práctica artística, como sujeto mapuche y trans, se caracteriza por cuestionar de manera crítica los binarismos del orden colonial y sus consecuencias dentro de las sociedades tanto indígenas como globales. De igual forma, me interesa abordar el estudio de las categorías de raza, género, clase social, como también temáticas que evidencian los conflictos territoriales y medioambientales por medio de la revisión de sus implicancias políticas, sociales y culturales. 

Mi trabajo se ejecuta por medio de instalación, cerámica, dibujo, fotografía, performance y video, con el objetivo de explorar tanto las similitudes y diferencias culturales como los estereotipos que se producen en el cruce de modos de pensamiento indígenas y globales.”

Performance Series

This event is part of our Performance Series. Check out recordings of past performances and read about the series.