Julieta Gil: Revertir el Desgaste

To observe is an act of resistance.

—Julieta Gil

Campeche presents Revertir el Desgaste, a solo exhibition of new work by Mexican artist Julieta Gil. Featuring a series of sculptures, video, and mixed media works that derive from analyzing monuments and touch upon concepts of activism, protests, art restoration, power structures, and architecture as a reflection of a contemporary society in her native Mexico.

In recent years, Gil’s work has been defined by a detail-oriented process that arises from the sustained observation of her surroundings to identify commonplace symbols that appear—yet remain unnoticed—in everyday life. This contemplation comes from daily strolls or bike rides around the city, where the artist visits monuments and sculptures, and thoroughly documents them for posterity and analysis—mostly using her smartphone as a parting tool. 

Gil’s interest in age-old restoration processes stems from the continual observation of monuments being cleaned, reconstructed, and repaired in the aftermath of events caused by social turmoil. For instance, the iconic Ángel de la Independencia—officially titled La Victoria Alada—was emphatically graffitied during a 500-person protest in August 2019, in an effort to demand government officials to declare an alert of gender violence. The landmark then was left with phrases like “Mexico feminicida” and “se va a caer” in neon pink, lime green, purple, and black spray paint. Within hours, workers erected a wooden wall around the base of the monument and began power-washing the graffiti. The fast-tracked and inevitable rehabilitation provoked the artist to question, “Why does it need to be repaired? Why can’t it be left exposing the real problems affecting our country?”