Procesión de Ocho, 2017

Procesión de ocho (Procession of Eight) incorporates eight independent placards fastened on wooden poles and leaning against the wall. In place of the messages we might expect to see, these display a geometric and chromatic language: a festive decoration in the form of coloured bunting, in which chromatism has replaced discourse. The arrangement of the placards and their staggered heights create an invisible thread that joins the coloured, painted triangles as if they were party decoration. As the artist herself explains:

‘My obsession with communication is trying to find things that people would recognize by themselves. What I like about celebratory objects, is that they are almost indexes of how you are allowed to behave or feel. So in a sense, yes, there is an irreverence to try to bring this attitude and relaxation into the museum, but also because I think these sort of celebrations are very useful metaphors. What I like about a street party or carnival is that it is a good-happy time that you share with strangers. It is beautiful to be able to do that with people that you do not know. I think it is easy to imagine how the world could be better if you live with people that you love, but there are a lot of people that we live with that we do not know and we do not have reasons to love. So in a sense, these celebrations are a metaphor of cultural intimacy or social space that you can share with strangers in a positive way.’ (Amalia Pica interviewed by Ionit Behar, 2017)