Un País Olvidado — Mitología & Identidad Perdida
Forgotten Country — Mythology & Lost Identity
Proposal by Alejandra Abad
Themes: Postcolonialism, Metamodernism, Diaspora, Fragmented Identity, Folklore & Mythology, Magical Realism, Cautionary Tale, Non-linearity, Petrostate, Political Turmoil, Extraction, Semiotics, Imagined future
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Thesis Proposal 2020 – Alejandra Abad
FORM
https://alejandraabad.com/nuestra-mitologia/
Mythical Creatures
The project will present a new mythology, and a sentiment of hope, for the Venezuelan diaspora to carry in new places; the interviewees are co-creators of this new mythology. I will create a primary monster that is made of crude oil, who has the power to absorb everyone into itself; this acts as a metaphor for the corrupt and centralized power of the authoritarian government. This monster splits into other monsters, such as a black smog that covers the country, corrupting the natural elements as it goes (e.g. water, earth, wind, fire lead to the production of petroleum, which in turn corrupts natural elements).





Audio clip from interviwee playing the trumpet
Soy hermano de la espuma
De las garzas y de las rosas
Soy hermano de la espuma,
De las garzas, de las rosas
Y del sol, Y del sol


Fragmentation &
a metaphor to an Exquisite Corpse
The exhibition will be set up as narrative fragments, so that people could have an open and nonlinear experience of animations and the sculptural elements. I will be projecting video onto artifacts and materials; for example, for the petroleum monster I plan to project onto a fluidized bed with sand. The petroleum monster would belch, and we would be able to see the corruption of the elements of earth and water.
Dr. Hertzberg will mentor me on this process in December.
I am interested in capturing a bubbling movement to use as video art or project into.
Material for textures and collage


Hallacas
Harina de Pan
Hojas de Platano
Onoto


I will find the etymology of places and foods (for example, the arepa – a type of corn dumpling – is of indigenous origin).
Topics to explore include memories of home.