Activity
Friday June 28, 2024
Invocations (Act II)
Chaveli Sifre, Gelen Jeleton, Seba Calfuqueo and Hibotep
finished
The second act will open with a unique tarot card reading by Gelen Jeletono. Then, in the Capella, the Mapuche artist Seba Calfuqueo will present her performance Bodies in Resistance followed by the celebration of the closing of Invocations with Hibotep, a DJ and artist trained in the underground scene of Kampala, who will premiere a performance in the form of a sound invocation, with the title of Lubaan iyo Foox. Throughout the course of the second day, visitors can also visit the Animist Toast by Chaveli Sifre, which will be on display in the Crypt of the Convent dels Àngels.
programme
Invocations (Act II)
17:00 – 19:00 h
Chaveli Sifre. Agua de Fuego (Fire Water)
Forum and Crypt (Capella MACBA). Free entry on a first come first served basis. *
*This work is a meeting-installation with Chaveli Sifre, of about 10-15 min duration. Admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis until 18:30. Small groups of 3-5 people. Registration will be in the reception area of the Capella from 5pm.
Agua de Fuego (Fire Water) explores two versions of a single ritual and connects them through a process of distillation, an extraction of matter, a metamorphosis. The night-time celebrations of San Juan (Midsummer) result from syncretism, epitomising the way in which traditions transform over time, settling multiple meanings within them. We will approach these ancestral rituals through a steam distillation of ashes collected from the bonfires of San Juan and mixed with sea water. The underground crypt of the Convent dels Àngels becomes the stage for this transformation.
The work brings together two traditions of the night of San Juan: Mediterranean bonfires (a form of sun worship) and ritual bathing in the sea, which is common in Puerto Rico on the same date. Distilling the ashes with seawater produces an aroma that condenses both practices. The ashes, as remnants of combustion, are evidence of the transformation of matter. They act as fertilisers enabling the cyclical regeneration of nature. Seawater, the origin of life, evokes purification, but also the passage between territories. Through distillation, we will extract a perfume that synthesises two opposing elements (water and fire), revealing its symbolic strength.
*This work is a meeting-installation with Chaveli Sifre, of about 10-15 min duration. Admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis until 18:30. Small groups of 3-5 people. Registration will be in the reception area of the Capella from 5pm.
Agua de Fuego (Fire Water) explores two versions of a single ritual and connects them through a process of distillation, an extraction of matter, a metamorphosis. The night-time celebrations of San Juan (Midsummer) result from syncretism, epitomising the way in which traditions transform over time, settling multiple meanings within them. We will approach these ancestral rituals through a steam distillation of ashes collected from the bonfires of San Juan and mixed with sea water. The underground crypt of the Convent dels Àngels becomes the stage for this transformation.
The work brings together two traditions of the night of San Juan: Mediterranean bonfires (a form of sun worship) and ritual bathing in the sea, which is common in Puerto Rico on the same date. Distilling the ashes with seawater produces an aroma that condenses both practices. The ashes, as remnants of combustion, are evidence of the transformation of matter. They act as fertilisers enabling the cyclical regeneration of nature. Seawater, the origin of life, evokes purification, but also the passage between territories. Through distillation, we will extract a perfume that synthesises two opposing elements (water and fire), revealing its symbolic strength.
19:30 – 20:30 h
Gelen Jeleton. Florilegium, Tarot (I’m Telling You)
Gothic Room. Free entry prior registration.
Gelen Jeleton presents a reading session of cards from her tarot Florilegium, a set of cards produced by Equipo Jeleton (which she co-founded) within the framework of their long-running project Political History of Flowers, which began in 2003. This performative lecture offers an iconographic journey through the histories and stories of the tarot, in which art and life interweave. In Jeleton’s words: “It’s about deciphering, unravelling, as far as it can be told. An intensive session consisting of three readings from a deck of twenty-five cards. A reading about the tarot cards themselves, yours and mine. Reading the cards, out loud, with one another. Telling stories from them and with them, reading them altogether”.
Gelen Jeleton presents a reading session of cards from her tarot Florilegium, a set of cards produced by Equipo Jeleton (which she co-founded) within the framework of their long-running project Political History of Flowers, which began in 2003. This performative lecture offers an iconographic journey through the histories and stories of the tarot, in which art and life interweave. In Jeleton’s words: “It’s about deciphering, unravelling, as far as it can be told. An intensive session consisting of three readings from a deck of twenty-five cards. A reading about the tarot cards themselves, yours and mine. Reading the cards, out loud, with one another. Telling stories from them and with them, reading them altogether”.
21:00 – 21:30 h
Seba Calfuqueo. Bodies in Resistance
Capella. Free entry with prior registration.
This performance is based on the different ways for ‘sodomy’ in Mapudungun, the native language of the Mapuche people, according to Spanish chronicles and colonial accounts. The artist confronts the history of the evangelisation of indigenous peoples as an instrument used by European settlers to normalise and wipe out gender non-conforming identities on the American continent.
Bodies in Resistance makes use of the artist’s own body as well as sound, writing, synthetic hair and the colour blue to reclaim a Mapuche worldview from a queer feminist perspective, thus questioning the colonial imaginaries of gender constructed by the West. On the hood that the artist wears during the performance, there is a drawing of a guñelve (which represents the morning star or Venus), a symbol of Mapuche resistance.
Credits: 15-minute performance. Upon finishing the performance, there will be a short conversation with the artist. Materials: synthetic hair, elastics, herbs of rue, sage and rosemary, costume with mask and kaskawillas (Mapuche instrument) on white canvas (floor). Costume design: Lupe Abaca.
This performance is based on the different ways for ‘sodomy’ in Mapudungun, the native language of the Mapuche people, according to Spanish chronicles and colonial accounts. The artist confronts the history of the evangelisation of indigenous peoples as an instrument used by European settlers to normalise and wipe out gender non-conforming identities on the American continent.
Bodies in Resistance makes use of the artist’s own body as well as sound, writing, synthetic hair and the colour blue to reclaim a Mapuche worldview from a queer feminist perspective, thus questioning the colonial imaginaries of gender constructed by the West. On the hood that the artist wears during the performance, there is a drawing of a guñelve (which represents the morning star or Venus), a symbol of Mapuche resistance.
Credits: 15-minute performance. Upon finishing the performance, there will be a short conversation with the artist. Materials: synthetic hair, elastics, herbs of rue, sage and rosemary, costume with mask and kaskawillas (Mapuche instrument) on white canvas (floor). Costume design: Lupe Abaca.
21:30 – 22:30 h
Hibotep. Lubaan iyo Foox
Capella. Free entry with prior registration.
Kampala-based musician, rapper and underground artist Hibotep will present a live ritual invocation followed by a closing DJ set. In the heart of her Somali culture, the aromatic resins frankincense (lubaan) and myrrh (foox) hold a place of profound significance. These powerful substances have been used for centuries in spiritual ceremonies, healing practices and daily rituals, connecting generations through their enduring presence.
As valuable as gold in ancient times, lubaan and foox were key commodities in trade routes that spanned Africa, the Middle East and Asia. In Somali homes, their presence is still ubiquitous today, embodying a continuous link to ancestry and sacred traditions. Hibotep’s new performance is a tribute to this legacy. Through poetry, textural sounds and polyrhythmic beats, Hibotep re-signifies ancient practices – this is what she calls “industrial shamanism”. Her closing performance celebrates the spiritual power of her Somali roots by pushing them into the future.
Kampala-based musician, rapper and underground artist Hibotep will present a live ritual invocation followed by a closing DJ set. In the heart of her Somali culture, the aromatic resins frankincense (lubaan) and myrrh (foox) hold a place of profound significance. These powerful substances have been used for centuries in spiritual ceremonies, healing practices and daily rituals, connecting generations through their enduring presence.
As valuable as gold in ancient times, lubaan and foox were key commodities in trade routes that spanned Africa, the Middle East and Asia. In Somali homes, their presence is still ubiquitous today, embodying a continuous link to ancestry and sacred traditions. Hibotep’s new performance is a tribute to this legacy. Through poetry, textural sounds and polyrhythmic beats, Hibotep re-signifies ancient practices – this is what she calls “industrial shamanism”. Her closing performance celebrates the spiritual power of her Somali roots by pushing them into the future.
this activity is part of
participants
Seba Calfuqueo 
HIBOTEP 
Gelen Jeleton 
Chaveli Sifre
artists
4 artists
contact
for further information
macba@macba.cat