Change of force

The exhibition Change of force by the Ecuadorian artist Adrián Balsecacurated by Marco Scotini, represents an exploration of the human role in’ecosystem and the links between economics, ecology e memory. Balseca uses narratives that intertwine actual facts, historical archives and elements of ethno-fiction to analyse the law of nature and its protection, enshrined in Ecuador in Article 71 of the Constitution, which recognises the nature as a subject with rights. The artist emphasises how modernity and activities extractive compromise this vision, raising critical reflection on the limits of neoliberal model and proposing alternatives inspired by the concepts of degrowth.

The title, Change of force, reworks the slogan The force of change of the election campaign of Jaime Roldós Aguilera, Ecuador's first democratic president, transforming it into an invitation to reflect on the dynamics of power in the context of’political ecology. Among the works on display, Halfway Point (2014) represents a Andino Miura in 1977, driven along the Pan-American Highway, while PLANTASIA OIL Co. (2021) combines nature and waste from the oil economy, a symbol of the resilience of the green in environments compromised by humans. Other installations such as The Unbalanced Land (2019) and La pelle del lavoro (2016) explore the legacy of colonial and the rubber exploitation in the Amazon, inviting a rethinking of the interactions between power e nature.