Claudia Joskowicz: Every Building on Avenida Alfonso Ugarte – After Ruscha

September 12 – December 9, 2018
Guest Curator: Ilana Shamoon
Salah J. Bachir New Media Wall, The Image Centre (formerly Ryerson Image Centre)

This two-channel video by Bolivian-born artist Claudia Joskowicz documents a slow-motion journey along a major boulevard in El Alto, the site of violent protests during the Bolivian gas conflict of 2003. At the height of this people’s campaign, Indigenous groups and labour unions mobilized to launch countrywide protests; these historical tensions shadow Joskowicz’s steady tracking shot of the avenue (inspired, in part, by Ed Ruscha’s conceptual 1966 accordion book of photographs Every Building on the Sunset Strip). A re-enacted faceoff between protesters and armed military officers, as well as images of an Indigenous parade, intermix with scenes of everyday life, challenging notions of truth, memory, and power, and exploring the lingering impacts of political upheaval.

Event(s):

Opening Party
Wednesday, September 12
6:00–8:00 PM

Artist and Curator in Conversation: Claudia Joskowicz with Ilana Shamoon
Wednesday, October 3
7:00 PM

Exhibition Tours
Daily 2:30 PM

All events take place at The Image Centre (formerly Ryerson Image Centre), unless otherwise noted