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A War Machine II - Ethno Mechanics 2017
documenta14 - Neue Galerie, Kassel
With many thanks to: Yankuam Francisco Shiki Mashu, María Balbina Paucar, Patricio Pinchupa
Clay, latex, human hair, organic materials, acrylic, polystyrene sheets, metal, wood, pigment, graphite, shellac and prints. Dimensions variables -approx. 10x7 m.
Operation Manual for A War Machine
The Casting:
Following a forensic methodology, a number of persons related to the fields of politics, economics, culture, and the military-industrial complex are selected. The selection reverses the concept of the noble savage to instead classify those anthropophagus personalities whose existence is dedicated to the eradication of
a broad range of humanity.
The Shrunken Heads:
After the casting, the final candidates are subjected to a reduction of the size of their heads. The process makes use of three-dimensional portraits as raw material by preparing them with organic substances. The act of mimesis inherent to the reduction of the candidates’ heads, a practice developed by the Shuar culture of the Amazonian region between Ecuador and Peru, re-signifies ethnography as an ideology of war. Once granted permission by a Shuar leader, the trophies can be prepared in public and displayed in showcases.
The Ethnographic War Machine: The final fetishes are connecte in a closed circuit. The operating machine extracts meaning, as a life force, from the heads and channels it to itself. The device is built onto
a floor map that describes the architecture of the feedback system. Any machine can be overloaded and directed to its own failure.