YUMA o la tierra de los amigos (YUMA, or the Land of Friends)

2014 - Photography (Photography)

YUMA o la tierra de los amigos (YUMA, or the Land of Friends) by Carolina Caycedo is a large mural containing a series of satellite photographs mounted on acrylic. The mural contrasts and mixes multiple layers of these satellite images capturing the progressive devastation of the El Quimbo dam on the Yuma river (Magdalena), in the Department of Huila. The project was originally produced for the 8th Berlin Biennale, and developed out of the artist’s research into waterways, their political and cultural impact, and their historical development. In this work Caycedo focuses on the particular case of the El Quimbo Dam in Colombia, a dam along the Magdalena River. It was the first hydroelectric power project in Colombia to be constructed by a transnational, private corporation, signifying the transition of this geographically, ecologically, and historically important public body of water into a privatized resource. The dam’s construction required the redirection of the Magdalena River, the main fluvial artery in the country, which affected a vast area and displaced the Indigenous population of the region. Through this case, Caycedo investigates the destructive cultural and environmental consequences of erecting dams, as well as the desire to master the course of nature and the complicity of state power in quelling social unrest.

Carolina Caycedo’s work triumphs environmental justice through demonstrations of resistance and solidarity. The artist uses drawing, photography, film, and performance at venues and vehicles for research and action. Caycedo’s work addresses and laments the corruption of power and the destruction of nature by corporate greed, justified by progress. With regard to pressing concerns of global climate change, causing destruction to communities via droughts and natural disasters, Carolina’s works address the implications and consequences of such carelessness towards the future of the earth and its inhabitants. The artist’s use of technology to mediate these concepts provides a harmonious relationship between content and form. Caycedo’s work offers utopian models to inhabit in a world in which individuals and communities are increasingly subject to commodification, exploitation, and discrimination.

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