EVERYTHING IS RUINS IN THIS HOUSE
Solo Exhibition presented at ART LEAGUE HOUSTON
Pulling its title directly from "La Patria" ("The Motherland"), a poem by Colombian writer María Mercedes Carranza, Everything is Ruins In This House delves into the intricate connection between power and memory.
Building upon the thematic foundations of her debut solo exhibition, ‘In This House We Are Buried Alive,’ De La Calle continues her exploration of collective memory and historical amnesia, this time delving deeper into the socio-political landscapes of two countries she considers home: the United States and Colombia. These countries serve not only as geographic anchors but also as fertile ground to explore how their intertwined histories shape personal family narratives, influence identity, and transform the cultural memory of an entire nation.
In this iteration, De la Calle introduces new works that delve into themes of food justice and el campo (the countryside) expanding the narrative to encompass broader social and historical contexts often excluded from historical archives.
Through a multidisciplinary approach spanning printmaking,ceramics, and textiles De la Calle explores the enduring legacy of the U.S. involvement in Colombia. At its core, the exhibition poses three questions: What becomes the memory of a culture? Of a family? Who benefits when memories are forgotten?
Everything is Ruins In This House invites us to confront the ghosts of history, to engage with archives and the intricacies of memory, and to contemplate the implications of forgetting.
