ANDRÉS DURÁN

(Santiago, 1974)

The series Standing Hero (2014) and Edited Monument (2014-17) are the result of years of research on commemorative monuments erected in South America and, particularly, in Chile. After photographing his monuments, Durán digitally alters them using CGI and postproduction. Erected in key cities of Latin America between the second half of the nineteenth century and the mid-1900s, the original monuments were intended to rescue specific instances of heroism and patriotism. Today, however, these monuments are largely disconnected from the project of the contemporary city, to the point that they are practically ignored by passersby. Through his work, the artist underscores the invisibility of these public artworks and the lack of representativeness of the traditional European imaginary in present-day Latin America.