Fabiano KuevaArchive Alexandre de Humboldt Montréal
Fabiano Kueva, Le naufrage de Humboldt, 2016. Photo : Alejandro Jaramillo Hoyos. © Archivo Alexander von Humboldt
Artist Fabiano Kueva is in Montreal for a 3-month creative residency to work on his project Archive Alexandre de Humboldt and its Montreal component, which will be exhibited in November and December, in addition to preparing a three-day symposium of activities in the company of curator Emmanuelle Choquette.
For over ten years, artist Fabiano Kueva (Ecuador) has been building a vast archive by appropriating the strategies of 19th-century scientific travelers, such as walking, mapping, journaling, correspondence, landscaping and the collection of natural and cultural specimens. Taking as his point of departure the voyage of German explorer-naturalist Alexander von Humboldt between 1799 and 1804 through regions now known as Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Cuba and parts of the USA, Kueva re-enacts this journey in performances that become the subject of a film. At the same time, he builds up an impressive collection of artifacts, botanical specimens, journals and images, found or simulated, whose presentation in the form of an installation calls into question the imperialist viewpoint that guided the scientific inventory of the territory by travelers such as Alexander von Humboldt. In a way, the aim is to make visible the grey areas where complex relations between power and knowledge are played out.
Fabiano Kueva, Le naufrage de Humboldt, 2016. Photo : Alejandro Jaramillo Hoyos. © Archivo Alexander von Humboldt
Fabiano Kueva (Ecuador, 1972) is an artist, curator and producer. Since the 1990s, he has developed a body of work and research as part of numerous art collectives and individual projects in sound art, installation and experimental video. He has published several books, articles and records. He has participated in theoretical events and international exhibitions in Latin America and Europe. Received 1st Prize at the International Radio Biennial (Mexico, 2000); the Paris Prize at the 9th Cuenca Biennial (Ecuador, 2007); the Best Feature Film Award at the Chiloé Film Festival (Chile, 2021); and the Acquisition Prize at the 15th Cuenca Biennial (Ecuador, 2021). He lives and works in Quito.