![ANTÜ ÑI KURAM. [Sun´s Egg]. SEBA CALFUQUEO](https://www.mambogota.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Seba_Piezas_2025-1_Banner_Web-copy-1.jpg)
— 01.06.2025
ANTÜ ÑI KURAM. [Sun´s Egg]. SEBA CALFUQUEO
- The title of the exhibition, antü ñi kuram, is a term in Mapudungun, the Mapuche language, that translates to “sun’s egg” in Spanish. This expression originates from the concept of antü kuram, meaning “egg without an embryo”, a phrase historically used in a derogatory manner to refer to homosexuality. Calfuqueo reclaims and resignifies this term, transforming it into a symbol of resistance and pride, while exposing the ideological fractures imposed by colonization.
- In Imagen país (2023), the artist presents a series of small blue-glazed ceramic monuments honoring the trades and craftsmanship of the Mapuche people, as well as their cultural resistance. The work highlights the persistence of an identity that has been historically marginalized yet remains alive in the present.
- You Will Never Be a Weye (2015) and Cuerpos en resistencia (2020) address the imposition of colonial norms on identity and gender. Through these works, Calfuqueo revives silenced narratives, reclaiming memory and celebrating diversity.
- In the environmental sphere, works like Esporas (2021) and the Natura series (2023) reflect the deep connection between the Mapuche people and nature. Calfuqueo challenges the extractivist mentality, advocating for a worldview in which humans and the environment exist as an interconnected whole.
Through her artistic practice, Seba Calfuqueo proposes a dialogue between Indigenous memory and contemporary tensions. Her work challenges imposed structures and creates space for re-existence, resistance, and the reimagining of new ways of being and inhabiting the world.
Seba Calfuqueo is a trans Mapuche visual artist whose practice critically reflects on the colonial order and its effects on both Indigenous and global societies. As a trans and non-binary person, Calfuqueo explores the intersections of race, gender, and social class, while also addressing territorial and environmental conflicts. Her work highlights the political, social, and cultural implications of these themes from a decolonial perspective, using her Mapuche heritage as a foundation.
Calfuqueo’s work includes installation, ceramics, drawing, photography, performance, and video, through which she explores the similarities and differences between cultures, as well as the stereotypes that emerge from the intersection of Indigenous and Westernized ways of thinking. Additionally, her work brings visibility to feminist and LGBTQ+ issues, fostering critical dialogue with the audience.
Calfuqueo has exhibited her work in renowned national and international institutions. Her pieces are part of the collections of TATE Modern (England) Centre Pompidou (France), Denver Art Museum (EE.UU) Museo MALBA (Argentina), Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza (Spain), Colección KADIST (France), Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Rio Grande do Sul – MAC RS (Brazil), Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Chile) y MAC (Chile).
She has participated as a guest artist at Venice Biennale (2024), Whitney Biennial (2024), 34th São Paulo Biennial (2021), 12th Mercosur Biennial (2020) y 22nd Paiz Biennial (2020).
Calfuqueo has received several prestigious awards, including: FAVA Foundation Award (2018), Eyebeam’s Fractal Fellowships Program (2020)
Ama Amoedo Foundation’s FAARA Award (2023) and Cuervo Award at Zona Maco (2024). Through a biographical exploration that connects the personal with the global, Seba Calfuqueo seeks to redefine notions of identity, fostering a critical dialogue that transcends borders and challenges established paradigms.
Credit: Diego Argote
Photo by: Juan Echeverria y Esteban Suárez (2022).
Curator: Eugenio Viola: Born in Naples, Italy, he is a curator, art critic, and holds a PhD in Methods and Methodologies of Archaeological and Historical-Artistic Research from the University of Salerno. He worked as Chief Curator at the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea DonnaRegina – MADRE (Naples) from 2009 to 2016. There, he was responsible for research on the museum’s collection and co-curated the first large-scale exhibitions in Italy by Boris Mikhailov, Francis Alÿs, and Daniel Buren, among others. From 2017 to 2019, he was Chief Curator at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts – PICA and is currently Chief Curator at the Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá – MAMBO. In 2016 and 2019, Viola was recognized as the best Italian curator by Artribune magazine. Likewise, Viola curated the Estonian Pavilion at the 56th Venice Art Biennale (Jaanus Samma, ‘NSFW- Not Suitable For Work. A Chairman’s Tale’, Palazzo Malipiero, Venice). Afterwards, it was organized at the Museum of Occupations and Freedom in Tallinn, Estonia; an exhibition listed among the 15 best exhibitions in the world in 2016 by Hyperallergic, a leading American voice in contemporary art and culture perspectives. His curatorial practice has focused on experiences and theories related to new media, performance, and bodily poetics, about which he has published various articles and given numerous lectures. His writings have been published in international media such as ArtForum, Exit Express, and Flash Art. He has worked with important artists such as Marina Abramović, Regina José Galindo, Francis Alÿs, ORLAN, Kimsooja, Carlos Martiel, Teresa Margolles, Amalia Pica, Carlos Garaicoa, and Maria José Arjona, among others. Viola was appointed Curator of the Italian Pavilion 2022 for the 59th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, which opened on April 23, 2022.
