The Potosí Principle
Alice Creischer, Andreas Siekmann and Max Jorge Hinderer discuss their controversial exhibition ‘The Potosí Principle’ on the circulation of art and wealth during Spanish colonial rule. Moderated by Melissa Gronlund.
Potosí, the famous silver-mining city in what is today Bolivia, synonymous with immense wealth and unbridled exploitation, was the capital of the mining industry in Latin America from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century and played a crucial role in the development of European capitalism and the migrations associated with it. Even today, the expression ‘vale un Potosí’ / ‘worth a fortune’ is commonly used in Spanish.
‘The Potosí Principle’ offered a critical approach to the Bicentenario – the two hundredth anniversary of the independence movement in Latin America. It addressed the relationship between trade structures and ways of thinking in Latin America and Europe and their social effects on both continents, both before and after the citizens’ revolutions of the nineteenth century.
Alice Creischer and Andreas Siekmann are currently included in ‘Social Fabric‘ at Iniva, London, until the 10th March.
This event is a collaboration between Afterall, Iniva and Central Saint Martins Research: Exhibitions: histories, practices. Supported by the Goethe Institut.
Free but booking essential. To secure a place please contact events@afterall.org You will be sent a confirmation email with access details.
The Potosi Principle
Wednesday 8th February 2012, 19.00
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
University of the Arts London
Granary Building
1 Granary Square
London
N1C 4AA
Please note, as Central Saint Martins College has relocated to a new campus in Kings Cross, this postcode may not yet appear in some satellite navigation systems; it does appear in all updated or live versions including Google Maps.