Voy y Vuelvo / Valparaíso – Marseille

– Action realized as part of the exhibition: TOURiSTE or not TOURiSTE, Friche la Belle de Mai –

Hanging tennis shoes from electric cables is a universal symbol which, in accordance with the purpose of this action, is a vindication of the appropriation of territory. Infrequently transited by tourists, the Concepción staircase is one of the entrances to the neighborhood where the Fábrika studio is located, within the most touristic sector of the city: Cerro Concepción/Cerro Alegre. The action begins in this site when a pair of shoes that has been hanging there for years is taken down from the cables. By combining two pairs of shoes belonging to the artists, two identical mismatched pairs are created. Of each of the pairs, one shoe reads ¨voy¨ (I go) and the other ¨vuelvo¨ (I return), a reference to Nicanor Parra, traveling, displacement, and the shoes´ use which permits us to navigate spaces, and as an object that retains a little bit of all of the places where it has been present. One pair of these shoes is hung where the original shoes were, replacing the object that inspired the action and creating an imaginary bridge between this place and the Friche la Belle de Mai where the other pair is hung.

The original pair of tennis shoes that were hanging in Valparaíso was taken in a sealed bag to the art gallery in Marseille where it was shown as an object containing particles and dust direct from the ¨air of Valparaíso.¨ The video record of this action was projected in front of the shoes.

Voy y Vuelvo / Valparaíso – Marseille from FáBRiKa on Vimeo.