La frontera salvaje (The Savage Frontier)

“On the other side of the frontier exists the void, namely space to be conquered or civilized.” 
– Walter Mignolo

A pointy oversize piece recalling handmade lace is hanging like a carcass. Its materiality suggests a fleshy quality, a shift from the delicacy of the aforementioned textile.

This element evokes the role of livestock farming in Argentinean economy and culture, but also the physical and symbolic violence perpetrated by the so-called civilizer. The title refers to a motto of the late decades of the 19th century, «Civilization or Barbarism”, when several military raids against the indigenous people progressively extended the borders of the territories controlled by the State.

The work confronts the viewer with a questioning perspective on how ‘savagery’ and ‘civilization’ were entangled within the frontier.