Conversation with Vir Andres Hera
Winner of the 2024 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Young Creation Prize
About their work Amoxtli
Meaning “notebook” or “book” in Nahuatl (the Aztec language), the video and sound installation Amoxtli takes its name from Armenian poet Sayat-Nova, known for creating a multilingual body of work that transcends boundaries. The work echoes the concept of nepantla, described by Gloria Anzaldúa (1942–2004)—a Mexican-American writer, poet, theorist, and feminist activist—as a kind of in-between space encompassing all expressions of identity, fostering transformation and multiplicity.
Vir Andres Hera invites a dozen LGBTQIA+ activists, artists, and technicians to reflect on their journeys and identities. Like Sayat-Nova’s poems, the work unfolds in Spanish, French, and English. Each story is translated or interpreted, layering the voices of performers with those of translators in a tangible attempt to multiply perspectives.
Vir Andres Hera’s practice is born from a multiplicity of narratives, languages, and subjectivities. Alternating mediums across projects, the artist draws on various schools of thought that champion marginalized or racialized identities: queer, Chicana, or Black studies. Emphasizing collaboration, Vir Andres Hera brings together researchers, activists, performers, and shamans to present fragmented stories.
Event Information
Saturday, November 30 at 4:30 PM→ Accessible with a Biennale pass
→ Also valid for a pass already scanned for the Young International Creation exhibition.
Two screenings of Amoxtli (71 minutes) before the meeting with the artist:
→ First screening: 1:30 PM–2:15 PM
→ Second screening: 2:45 PM–4:00 PM
