July 27th–September 10th, 2023
Curated by Gabriela Rangel, this exhibition brings together the work of two young international artists Anaïs Horn and Pedro Zylbersztajn to Mexico City. Inspired by the homonymous poem by Adrienne Rich, The Afterwake invites the viewer to enter an evocative experience on time as a transition and an unfathomable interval through the analogy of the waves left by a ship in the water. The multi-layered installation Longing Ghosts in Deep Blue Paranoia by Anaïs Horn presents a fictional scene of Empress Charlotte of Belgium, who was confined for almost 50 years in Belgium after the execution of her husband, Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg in 1867. Recalling the daguerreotype technique –whose peak coincides with the Habsburg dynasty decline—Horn situated Charlotte’s delirium at their Italian home the castle of Miramare in Trieste. The tragic fate of the delusional empress is represented through a series of blurry images printed on mirrors, a single-channel video projection of ghostly images, and drawings. These elements are juxtaposed in a dense atmosphere accompanied by a hypnotic fragrance created by Pauline Rochas, a sound atmosphere by Eilert Asmervik, and texts composed by Estelle Hoy. Pedro Zylbersztajn presents four conceptual works starting with Écfrase de um filme (pausado), a complex exercise of narration in which a room is described in detail as it appears in a film. The story is characterized by an intricate and abstract structure that takes the shape of wall writing. A video projection Three Digestions explores the notions of consumption and colonial extraction as they relate to our practices – and infrastructures – of knowledge and culture. Sentimental Journey presents an exploration of feedback and delay through a synchronized action of four delegated performers. By contrast, Servimos bien para servir siempre frames the social fabric of the opening of the show as the performance itself. Artists' talk: The Afterwake On Saturday, July 29 at 12:00h, will be held a conversation at the gallery with the participation of artists Anaïs Horn and Pedro Zylbersztajn, as well as curator Gabriela Rangel to discuss more about the development and execution of this project.
