ANTIGUO HOSPITAL MILITAR
February 18, 1993
Quito, Ecuador
Location: Former Military Hospital
(currently the Center for Contemporary Art)
A pioneering performance art event in Ecuador, this project was initially conceived as an experimental work exploring the themes of man, nature, and belief. The action unfolds in four stages:
1) The performers light the candles that will illuminate the room and the installation.
2) The lead performer, Damián Toro, appears before the audience carrying a hen in each hand. He leads the public toward the room. Simultaneously, performer Jenny Jaramillo enters the room, where performer Ana Baldisserotto is also present.
3) A rope divides the room into two spaces: one for the audience and one for the performers. Once the action begins, Damián Toro has the audience cross the dividing rope. A physical dialogue ensues, developing scenes in a non-linear order that disorients the viewer while drawing them into the action (drinking sacramental wine, eating raw rice, listening to nonsensical texts, lighting candles, etc.).
4) Finally, the sequence is broken when Jenny Jaramillo extinguishes the candles, leading the audience to assume the action has ended.
Performers: Damián Toro, Jenny Jaramillo, Anna Flavia Baldisserotto
Living Sculpture: Carla Toro
Installation: Damián Toro, with the collaboration of Jenny Jaramillo and Ana Baldisserotto
Filming: Enrique Aguirre
Photography: Eduardo Quintana