Terra incognita.
Lead, fiberglass, and polyester resin.
2000 - 2002.

The work Terra Incognita (2000-2002) concludes the Papaver somniferum project, which began in 1997. The installation explores the particularities of the territories where opium poppies are grown and the situation of the inhabitants who live there. The work partially replicates the institutional perspective from which the cultivation of the plant has been conceived, in order to contrast aspects related to the reality experienced by the inhabitants of these areas.

While researching the cultivation of the plant in Colombia, I found a series of photographs belonging to the Anti-Narcotics Police that are part of the censuses carried out by the institution to locate poppy crops and plan eradication campaigns. Almost all of these images are aerial photographs accompanied by the geographical coordinates. To locate the crops, pilots have developed a keen sensitivity to perceive either the characteristic red of the flower or the blue-greenish of the foliage. This ability denotes not only the specialization of police personnel in relation to the characteristics of their target, but also a methodology that excludes the social and economic aspects that define the practice of illicit cultivation. After mapping the territory, the police plan and carry out eradication campaigns, in a process conceived as a surgical procedure. From the perspective of the war on drugs, these areas are perceived and defined as “targets.”

At the same time, I found in Mady Samper's book Senderos de la amapola: testimonios de indígenas y campesinos sobre cultivos ilícitos (Poppy Trails: Testimonies of Indigenous People and Peasants on Illicit Crops) a series of stories that give voice to the growers and show the crossroads at which they find themselves. This book and another series of references described in my book Papaver somniferum defined and oriented the character of the work.

Thus, Terra Incógnita mainly revisits the circumstances experienced by farmers who grow poppies, representing a social portrait of the phenomenon. To do this, I decided to metaphorically recreate some places in our topography, taking into account that the physical characteristics of the rocks are quite similar to the topographical characteristics of these terrains. In fact, the erosive agents that shape both mountains and rocks are the same. In this way, I selected seven rocks, which I then replicated on lead, finally placing miniature figures on their surfaces that represent and reflect the circumstances experienced by the farmers in those areas of the country. The scale of the figures and the height of the rocks respond to the aerial view that originates the project, allowing the viewer to simultaneously perceive the perspective from which the phenomenon is conceived as well as the dramatic situation experienced on the ground. The scenes not only reflect the circumstances experienced by the farmers, but also outline a psychological condition of abandonment and isolation.

Exhibitions:

Terra Incógnita, Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá, 2002.

Bienal Internacional de Liverpool, Tate Liverpool, 2002.

Contrabandistas de imágenes, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Santiago de Chile, 2005.