La Venganza del Elefante (The revenge of the elephant) (2007)

Unique among the works included in the exhibition Constructions of Truths, MCAD’s current show is La Venganza del Elefante (The revenge of the elephant) (2007) by Mexican artist Minerva Cuevas. The work is a slide presentation using vintage (ca. 1897) illustrations by Wilhelm Busch, a 19th-century German artist regarded as one of the founders of modern-day comics. A common theme for Busch’s stories was ‘bad behaving animals,‘ with his drawings accompanied by a descriptive text.

The slides used in this projection were produced by W. Butcher & Sons, London (1870 to 1906) under the trade name ‘Primus.’ Usually sold as a set of eight, these slide sets were called “Primus Projecting Post Cards,” of which La Venganza del Elefante is the latter.

Cuevas has directly appropriated the images—without the text— reproducing the glass slides on photographic film, allowing her to project the images without following the original sequence, thus making the reading of the images’ storyline more complex.

About the artist

Mexico-based artist Minerva Cuevas’ (b.1975) practice has always been accompanied and nurtured by her relation with social activism. Her work is known for integrating images appropriated and reconfigured via social context studies through different media. The distribution of information, employing techniques from the commercial publicity while transgressing their consuming persuasion purposes, public interventions and their documentation, the use of video and mural paintings are mechanisms Cuevas applies to conform complex projects that expand in time, and whose dissemination transcends the space and duration of the museum rooms.

Minerva studied BA in Visual Arts at Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas in Mexico City. In 2004, she was recipient of the Grant for Media Art of the Foundation of Lower Saxony at the Edith-Russ-Haus. She was artist in residence at the Berliner Künstlerprogramm en Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) in 2003 and Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, in 1998.

Recent selected solo exhibitions include: No Room To Play. DAAD Galerie, Berlin (2019); Disidencia, The Mishkin Gallery, New York (2019); Dissidência (vídeos), Galpao VB, Sao Paulo, Brazil (2018); Minerva Cuevas, DMA Dallas Museum of Art, United States (2017); Minerva Cuevas, Museo de la Ciudad de México, Mexico City (2012); Landings, Cornerhouse, Manchester, United Kingdom (2011); SCOOP, Whitechapel Gallery, London (2010); Minerva Cuevas, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands (2008); Phenomena, Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland (2007); On Society, MC Kunst, Los Angeles (2007); Egalité 2007, Le Grand Café – centre d’art contemporain, Saint-Nazaire, France (2007); Schwarzfahrer Are My Heroes, Daadgalerie, Berlin (2004); Mejor Vida Corp, Museo Tamayo, Mexico City (2000).

She has also participated in the following biennials: Prospect 4, Nueva Orleans (2017); 6th Liverpool Biennial, United Kingdom (2010); 6 Berlin Biennale (2010); 9e Biennale de Lyon, France (2007); 6th Bienal do Mercosul, Porto Alegre, Brazil (2007); 27a Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil (2006); Sharjah Biennial 7, United Arab Emirates (2005); 14th Biennale of Sydney, Australia (2004); 2nd edition of the T.I.C.A.B – Tirana International Contemporary Art Biannual, Albania (2005); 8. İstanbul Bienali (2003), Turkey.

Constructions of Truths is presented by the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), Manila in partnership with the Han Nefkens Foundation and in collaboration with Edouard Malingue Gallery, Kurimanzutto, Ruya Foundation and Silverlens.

MCADCoT @fundhannefkens #HanNefkensFoundation

Read about the exhibition here.

Source: http://www.kurimanzutto.com/en/artists/minerva-cuevas
Artwork: Minerva Cuevas, La Venganza del Elefante (The revenge of the elephant), 2007
Stills captured from the video
Second Image courtesy of https://guides.newman.baruch.cuny.edu