Overview

Claudia Aravena Abughosh introduces Vacas [Cows] (2002) by Gabriela Golder:

‘What impressed me a lot about the video VACAS is that the media images comprising the work are shocking in their own right. Gabriela dissects the image and funnels it back into the continuous flow of the media cycle. In the hands of the artist the images become subjected to a process of appropriation and reappropriation, a kind of violence that forces the viewer’s gaze.’

About the work:

VACAS [Cows] is about an incident that occurred in March 2002 when a truck loaded with cattle overturned on the road. In re-editing the news broadcast recorded at the scene of the accident, the piece goes far beyond the original news reporting. The incident occurred in the city of Rosario in Argentina, the third largest city in the country. The footage shows men gathered in small groups skinning carcasses and carrying away large cuts of meat. It is a disconcerting scene of mayhem and forced cooperation as people work together to get their share of the meat. We only learn what is going on here through a note at the end of the work, which reads ‘25 March. 2002. Rosario, Argentina. About 400 people slaughter cows sprawled on the asphalt when the truck carrying them overturned a few minutes earlier.’

Golder’s work has been presented at numerous international exhibitions including 10th Sharjah Biennial (2011); Radical Shift. Politische und soziale Umbrüche in der Kunst Argentiniens seit den 60er Jahren, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany (2010); Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporáneo, Badajoz, Spain, (2005); Centro de Arte Caja de Burgos, Burgos, Spain (2005), Tainment, NGBK, Berlín, Germany (2004); Ibiza Bienal, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Ibiza, Spain (2004); Festival des Femmes de Créteil, Allende, France (2004); Seoul Net and Film Festival, South Korea (2004); Festival Némo, Paris (2004); Festival Videobrasil, São Paulo, Brazil (2003); VIDEOFORMES International Digital Arts Festival, Clermont-Ferrand, France (2003); TRANSMEDIALE, Berlin (2003). 5ème Festival des Cinémas Différents et Expérimentaux de Paris (FCDEP)(2003); 49th International Short Film Festival, Oberhausen, Germany (2003); Videolisboa, Portugal (2003); Kassel Video Festival, Germany (2003); Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Switzerland (2003); Instants Vidéo numériques et poétiques, Manosque, France (2003); Musée d'Art Moderne de Lille Métropole (2003); Museum of Modern Art of Buenos Aires, Argentina (2003); Galerie Projektraum, KHM, Kôln. Germany, 2003; TRANSAT, Caen, France (2003); Le Printemps de Septembre, Toulouse, France (2003).


Among Golder’s awards are Estado da Arte, 21st Biennial of Contemporary Art Sesc_Videobrasil, Brasil (2019); BA Sitio Específico, Argentina (2014); Luis Espinal-Mostra CineTrabalho Award, Brazil (2011); Ars Electronica, 80+1 Project, Austria (2009); Sigwart Blum Award from the Association of Art Critics of Argentina (2007); First Prize, Ibiza Bienal, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Ibiza (2004); Media Art Award from the Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (ZKM), Germany (2003); Grand Prize at VIDEOFORMES International Digital Arts Festival, France (2003), and Tokyo Video Award (2002).

Screening and Booking Information

VACAS [Cows] (2002)
Gabriela Golder
Argentina
Experimental | 5 minutes
No dialogue with Arabic and English subtitles
This screening is part of the Genealogies in the Middle East and Latin America project, which explores historical and contemporary relationships between artists from these two regions. It unfolds along narratives revealed by the artists' personal accounts that provide critical alternative perspectives and insights by decentralising dominant narratives, schools and paradigms produced and affirmed in the West.

To learn more, please click here.