On November 8, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Lima (MAC Lima) reopened its temporary exhibition halls, showcasing two innovative exhibitions: “La poesía es una invasión” by José Aburto and the video installation “Guardianes” by Katherinne Fiedler. These exhibitions highlighted MAC Lima’s commitment to advancing art through technology and new media, with the second half of the year dedicated to temporary exhibitions focused on these themes.
“La poesía es una invasión” served as a retrospective of José Aburto’s 25 years of work in digital and experimental poetry. Curated by Roberto Valdivia, the exhibition featured interactive artworks, poem-objects, and hypermedia literature. Through the use of technological innovation and poetic research, it invited visitors to reflect on their relationship with the digital realm, suggesting that the divide between virtual and real experiences had become obsolete.
Aburto was recognized as a pioneer in the field of experimental electronic literature, being a member of the Electronic Literature Organization (ELO) and a founding member of Lit(e)Lat, the Latin American Network for Electronic Literature. With over 20 exhibitions in 14 countries, his work was widely studied and archived globally. Throughout his career, he explored the expansive possibilities offered by the digital world and its impact on modes of expression, employing formats and methods that redefined poetic practice from an interactive, technological, and personal perspective.
Meanwhile, “Guardianes” by Katherinne Fiedler featured a video installation where visual recordings of the Museo Nacional del Perú (MUNA) took center stage, arranged into an immersive assemblage. The journey through this remarkable museum complex was enhanced by the presence of dogs roaming its empty halls. These animals, deeply rooted in pre-Columbian iconography and mythology, elicited an ancestral connection with humanity while simultaneously reinforcing the ties between the past and the present.
Curated by José Carlos Mariátegui, “Guardianes” examined the interdependence of nature and culture, shedding light on the fragile institutional and political structures that sustain these relationships. It also suggested the necessity for new modes of connection, positing the desert landscape as a political and cultural territory. Fiedler developed this project thanks to the Leonardo Grant for Scientific Research and Cultural Creation 2023 from the Fundación BBVA in Spain.
In support of “La poesía es una invasión,” MAC Lima planned to offer a public program of free access from November through February of the following year, featuring guided tours, workshops, and discussions on electronic literature and experimental writing.
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