CURATORIAL TEXT

In a mixture of tribute and manifesto, the exhibition invites the public to reflect on the dark depths of mining and from there redesigning the maps of destruction to open up spaces for other realities.

The foundations of the society lies on the notion of mine. As exploited territory and also a materialization of the self, "mine" is the center of a capitalistic structure and its standards. 
 

January 25, 2019, workers gathered in the cafeteria, neighbors chatting at the backyard door, families gathered to celebrate the recently announced arrival of a new child. 

In that interior of Minas Gerais, in Brumadinho, Brazil, without any siren or prior warning the earth shakes. Gigantic, the Córrego do Feijão dam impetuously burst, forming a tsunami of toxic mud that in a few minutes buried the dreams, the loves, the lives of 272 people and 133.27 hectares of native Atlantic Forest vegetation. 

A story that repeats itself. In 2015, in the city of Mariana, the same state saw the toxic mining sludge destroy the main river of the southeastern region of the country in one of the biggest environmental disasters in the world.

There is no cry or word or image, no work of art, no God of any religion, there is nothing in the world capable of accounting for the size of that pain. 

It was not an accident. 

Developed specifically for Munich, the works reach the public in the city that hosts the trial of one of the most serious human and environmental crimes in contemporary history. 

The company that ensured the safety of the dam is based in Munich and currently denies its responsibility. 

Furthermore, large German banks are currently investing in mining companies which are leading environmental and human conflicts in Brazil.

Despite the physical and symbolic distances, the decisions taken here updated the colonialism era, directly affecting other territories. 

May the mines be over, and not the lives. May the selfish idea of what is "mine" change. The exhibition calls allies to sowing new possible landscapes.