CAMILA RAMÍREZ

(Antofagasta, 1988)

In her work, Camila Ramírez reflects upon the experience of Socialist countries in the 1970s. Interested both in their verbal discourse and imagery, the artist rescues and manipulates elements that are symbolically charged: these include monuments, objects, graphics, and actions constructed not only in Chile, but in other countries, such as the former Yugoslavia. The way in which she appropriates and deconstructs these symbols reveals a playful and sarcastic attitude. As if working with digital retouching programs or simply handling them like a child, Ramírez strips them of any degree of functionality and solemnity, as they are amplified, multiplied, overlapped, stretched. The outcome of these transformations shows an original model that has been deeply distorted, evoking a notion of excess and contradiction, as well as the romantic and utopian ideals attached to the underlying ideology.