“ATAVISM” explores the relationship of Indigenous heritage and its presence in the Latin American diaspora. The dictionary definition of Atavism is the tendency to revert to something ancient or ancestral. In this instance “ATAVISM” presents a conversation, not only between the viewer and a keystone component of Latin American Identity, but of western societal evolution as well.

 

Many thriving Pre-Colombian civilizations were thousands of years old at the time of Columbus’s arrival and various factors (including disease) followed European contact to force the end of these great societies along with the lives of millions of Amerindian people. The sands of time leave us now to echo them as Ancestors known as Incas, Lencas, Mayans, Tainos, Muiscas, Quechuas, Arawaks, Aztecs, Caribs and a host of many other Pre- Colombian cultures.  While there are still considerable populations of Amerindians or people that identify directly with native culture in existence within the Americas, a dominating percentage of indigenous people were assimilated into the cultures of their European colonizers I and mixed with the Africans that were brought to the Americas as an enslaved labor force. Those fused with these bloodlines would come to be known as Mestizos.

 

Many cultural traditions over time have lost their strength in translation and/or clarity in derivation but are still very much present and have led to a resurgence in the interest of ancestry.  Familial and cultural traditions passed down through generations have allowed more recent generations to identify and relate to their indigenous origins.  These traditions have found their way to popular culture in many forms including Iconography and folklore.

 

“ATAVISM” highlights the genetic, cultural and societal influences of Latin American descendants from The Caribbean, Central and South America.  This exhibit demonstrates for the viewer an interweaving of cultures within Latin America (and its Diaspora) while placing particular emphasis on Indigenous influences and how they are still evident in contemporary life.

 

 The artwork selected for this exhibition questions the modern relevance of this ancestry by allowing the viewer to visualize elements that infer, if not blatantly express the influence of indigenous roots from a contemporary standpoint.