Witness of the Century (Testigo del siglo)

Witness of the Century (Testigo del siglo) originated in our preoccupation and perplexity about the adversities our global habitat is currently passing through. We know about global warming and are aware of the urgency of the issues facing humanity. Uncertainty and a sense of helplessness are constants, and yet we continue to live day by day as if nothing were happening, as if global temperatures were not rising at exponential speeds, a phenomenon that will inevitably lead to the end of our planet as we know it.

At first sight, an art exhibition would not seem to be a solution, and indeed the very existence of such exhibitions is unsustainable within the perspective of global warming. Nevertheless, in line with the studies of British historian T. J. Demos, we are convinced that exhibitions focused on art and ecology are a pressing need in these times. We hope that our present efforts may in some way contribute to strengthening public commitment to sustainability policies and generate a space in which the possibility of alternative lifestyles can be put on the table, on behalf of greater environmental justice.

This exhibition proposes a reflection on environmental issues and our ecological emergency through an analysis of contemporary human habits. Accumulation, compulsion, abuse, overconsumption, waste, obsolescence, and the loss of subjectivity in the face of uniformity of thought are some of the issues that Testigo del siglo seeks to address and explore, as symptoms of the human pathologies of our time. From November 28 to April 26, 2015.

Works by: Eduardo Abaroa, Doug Aitken, Allora and Calzadilla, Javier Barrios, François Bucher, Agnieszka Casas, Minerva Cuevas, Jose Dávila, Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Sylvie Fleury, Mario García Torres, Thomas Hirschhorn, Yoshua Okón, Gabriel Orozco, Fernando Ortega, Christodoulos Panayiotou, Philippe Parreno, Ana Quiroz, Daniela Rosell, Eduardo Sarabia, Gabriel Sierra and Superflex.