"Jjagɨyɨ: Air of Life" by Carlos Motta with Elio Miraña, ELO, Gil Farekatde Maribba, Higinio Bautista, Kiyedekago, Rosita, and Yoí nanegü
Where: PPOW Gallery New York
When: September 8–October 7, 2023
Why It’s Worth a Look: Through engagement and collaboration with Indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon, Motta examines the cultural impact of boarding schools run by Capuchin missionaries in the area. The exhibition centers around a three-channel video surrounded by wooden sculptures. It then culminates with a paper and cardboard model of La Casa Arana and a colonial Catholic church, onto which photographs taken by missionaries are projected.
Know Before You Go: The exhibition's collaborators are featured in the video presentation speaking about their own experiences in the boarding schools and their reflections on what was lost as Catholicism and Western culture was imposed on them.