Andres Bedoya’s performance installation Ultra Madre was originally presented at the Museo Nacional de Arte in La Paz, Bolivia, in 2009. Born of private mourning, the piece ultimately speaks of loss as a collective experience.
Installed within the main arch of the museum's patio, a steel and wood scaffold holding 57 women disrupted its architecture physically and functionally. For approximately one hour, participating women lay still with their long hair cascading down the 15-foot structure. In stark contrast to the hardness of the building, the body appeared soft, impermanent, and ephemeral.
The current show, From Ultra Madre, presents materials generated during its 18-month development. Through studies, photographs, and documentation of the process, the broader narrative and context for the project is articulated.
Andres Bedoya was born in La Paz, Bolivia. He lives and works in La Paz and New York City. He has presented work at the Museo Nacional de Arte and Kiosko Galería in Bolivia. He has also shown work in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago, Chile; Liverpool, United Kingdom; Portland, Los Angeles, and New York. As an art event organizer, Andres co-founded Brooklyn is Burning, which was presented in venues including Glasslands Gallery, Monkey Town, and MoMA PS1.