COORDINATES

Coordinates by Jesper Just, curated by Anissa Touati, is a show that exhibits the Danish artist’s work in Mexico for the first time.

For Coordinates, Jesper Just chose the Isthmus of Tehuantepece, Oaxaca where the Muxe1community resides and where the Bowman Expeditions were carried out by the U.S. Army to explore and map the region.

The artist centers on the culture of the Isthmus communities as well as the territorial conflict confronted by the inhabitants of that zone who struggle for the autonomy of their land.

In keeping with the idea of “the need to represent social difference in a spatial form,”2 Coordinates exhibits two video installations: the first occurs on the esplanade outside the Museum: as if a discovery had just taken place, a preventive archeological canopy is found before the Anahuacalli, housing an installation and a video taken of the windy Zapotec landscape of Juchitán, in which snowflakes are juxtaposed with a ceremonial center. These points in motion may be interpreted as the coordinates on a map, not unlike those drawn up by the Bowman expeditions.
The second takes place in Diego Rivera’s Studio and establishes a direct connection to the name of the exhibition. In the video, Muxes may be seen embroidering, in keeping with their tradition. The movement of their needles composes a sound landscape that conveys both desire and a silent act of protest.

This rhythm becomes its own system; a pattern that dialogues with the collection of pre-Hispanic works housed by the Anahuacalli and the sketches by the muralist regarding the importance of the people’s struggle and Mexican culture.

The exhibition Coordinates coincides with the contemporary art fair Zona MACO, and may be visited from February 7 to April 15, 2018.

Jesper Just (1974)

Danish artist who works and resides in New York. He holds a degree from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Denmark and is represented by the Perrotin Gallery in France, the James Cohan Gallery in New York and the Nicolai Wallner Gallery in Copenhagen. He has toured the world with his contemporary art exhibitions, showing his work in video and performance at museums, art galleries and biennials. In the year 2016, he completed a residency at the Fundación Casa Wabi of Mexico City.

Anissa Touati (1981)

Co-director and independent French curator of the Chalet Society Gallery. In her curatorial practice, she attempts to forge bonds and interactions among artists and the exhibition space. She has participated in the projects Luna Park and Triangle Walks for the Basel Art Fair in Miami, Form Scratch at Art Basel and Yodeling Circus for the Venice Biennial. Likewise, she has curated exhibitions with independent galleries such as How Can I Forget You? at Perrotin Gallery (Paris), The Queen Falls at Galería OMR (Mexico City) and Atomic Romance at Galería Barro (Buenos Aires).