COSMIC TRACES: ROBERTO HUARCAYA AT THE VENICE BIENNALE
Peruvian photographer Roberto Huarcaya will represent his country at the Venice Biennale 2024 with his project Cosmic Traces.
Cosmic Traces is an installation that harmoniously brings together a collection of remarkable works: A monumental photogram meticulously conceived by artist Roberto Huarcaya in the heart of the Amazon rainforest –precisely within the Bahuaja Sonene National Park, nestled in the Tambopata jungle of Peru. Against the backdrop of this lush setting, Huarcaya unfolded a 30-meter photosensitive paper roll beneath a towering palm tree during a storm, allowing the lightning to etch its imprint onto the paper during the night. This photogram was revealed and fixed in-situ in a set-up darkroom amidst the jungle, utilizing water from nearby rivers. Notably, the liquid remnants from the development journeyed to Lima, ensuring environmentally responsible disposal. Complementing this visual masterpiece, a sculpture of a canoe by the talented artist Antonio Pareja (1945 | Ayacucho, Perú), and a piano composition envisioned by Mariano Zuzunaga (1953 | Lima, Peru).
The proposal emerges at the crossroads of photography, installation, and land art, challenging our approach to (re)presenting the environment. It serves as an immersive, fleeting ritual sanctuary designed to awaken consciousness, spark imagination, and promote meditation. By doing so, it encourages viewers to reconsider their surroundings with a sensitive and non-instrumental perspective. The curatorial team of the proposal is formed by Joan Fontcuberta, Alejandro León Cannock, Andrea Jösh, Amanda Antunes and Víctor Vich.
The next edition of the Venice Biennale –from April 20 to November 24, 2024– is titled Strangers Everywhere, curated by Brazilian Adriano Pedrosa, the first Latin American to receive the commission.
Among Huarcaya's photographic projects are the already renowned Amazogramas, a monumental work comprising a series of large-scale photograms he has been working on for almost 10 years, as a life-size record of the Amazon.
In addition, in the tenth edition of Pinta PArC, Rolf Art gallery presented a site-specific project by Roberto Huarcaya in the Special Project section in the hall of Casa Prado. It was a series of three photograms that were made in the Bahuaja Sonene National Park, in the Peruvian jungle of Tambopata, unfolding a 30-meter-long roll of photosensitive paper among the foliage during the night. The development was done in a specially conditioned darkroom using water from nearby rivers. The liquid remains of the development were transported to Lima to be disposed of without affecting the environment.