Ivan Argote
BARCELONA

This video, set in Barcelona, shows the artist performing an iconoclastic action. At night, using a lighter and a bottle of absinth, Argote sets fire to a statue of a bishop preaching to a native man. The statue is at the base of the pedestal of the monument to Christopher Columbus, located at the end of the Rambla, close to the harbour. By setting this symbol on fire, the artist shows his disapproval of the European vision of colonisation, in which the coloniser is a hero.

Illusion Woman – a young leftist feminist heroine or anti-heroine for the 21st century with, from, and for the multitude – makes her first appearance, applying a dazzle mask as she speaks. Written by Nina Power, British philosopher, activist and feminist, with Libia and Ólafur, Illusion Woman’s speech is a plea and manifesto, reflecting on the socio-economic and political situation in Europe and beyond since the financial crash of 2008 and forecasting two possible futures.

‘Western’ glasses (‘unbreakable’ Duralex glasses) are filmed in slow motion as they fall to the ground, bounce, alternate positions, and merge with the more fragile Arabic tea-glasses, in a silent and ultimately shared dance of death. Letters hit the falling glassware with the rhythmic intensity of gunshots, spelling the word ‘catastrophe’ in English, Greek (??????????), and Arabic (nakba). “Catastrophe” is a reflection on the current events in the world and the decreasing value of human life.