Visual Atlas of the American Monster

Application summary

Under the banner of development, many modern Latin American states have decreed as terrorists indigenous organizations fighting against extractivist projects and laws. Intensified over the last decades, this struggle is not between two forces claiming the right to exploit the earth's riches, but the clash between two worldviews with contradicting understandings and relationships with Nature. Taking as a starting point the manifestation of monstrous races portrayed as scientific fact in XVI-century colonizers' chronicles, maps, and illustrations of the New World, the Visual Atlas of the American Monster examines the political and cultural implications of “indigenous monstrosity”, unveiling its neo-colonial transfiguration into the current dehumanization of organized native communities upraised in defense of nature. How dare they. With this allegory, we aim to build an ironic mirror reflecting how the echoes of the colonialist mindset and actions still operate today, particularly its violent use of law and language in favor of profit, no matter what. The Atlas will have a cross-media outcome. The collection of Monster’s portraits and texts will be curated for an exhibition, edited for a book, and showcased as an interactive experience. Finally, a selection of illustrations will be adapted for medium-scale interactive murals painted in the capital of countries with conflict.