Talk
Midterm Evaluation: PhD Fellow Antonio Vega Macotela
In my mid-term evaluation, I will present both the background and the most recent developments of the project The Ballad of the Q’aqchas, which draws a parallel between the Q’aqchas—a group of pirate miners from 18th century Potosí, Bolivia, infamous for illegally exploiting the mines during periods when legitimate miners were required to rest (at night, on holidays, or weekends)—and a group of nomadic hackers.
Among the latest developments, I will include an excerpt from an experimental fairy tale that describes certain events of this project, two of the most recent installations we have worked on, and software developed by the hackers designed to function as an oracle.
Vega Macotela, born in 1980 in Mexico City. He has shown his work at the New Museum Triennial in New York, Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Museo Amparo in Puebla, Witte de With in Rotterdam, MACBA in Barcelona, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and Artpace in San Antonio, among others. His work has been included in the 34th Sao Paulo Biennial, the 12th Taipei Biennial, Documenta 14 in Kassel and Athens, Prospect 3 in New Orleans, the 13th Istanbul Biennial, and Manifesta 9 in Genk.