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Citámbulos - intro
The exhibition ‘Citámbulos - Drifting Through the Mexican Megalopolis’ is a sensory journey to one of the worlds largest cities - Mexico City. Visit it at Museum of Copenhagen from the 27th of May to the 14th of August 2011.
With a humoristic and serious approach the exhibition paints a different kind of “close-up portrait’ of a city we all know by name, but who’s citizens and neighbourhoods we are rarely able to connect with particular faces, thoughts, values and names. In Mexico City it is not uncommon to see animals from the country on busy highways, “bless me with wealth spray cans” are available at the local store and citizens make their own mobile gardens out of old trucks when authorities refuse to prioritise new green areas. The city is chaotic and vulnerable yet also dynamic and resistant. It is a metropolis with huge contrasts in constant evolution.
A giant Pandoras box
Mexico City is often referred to as a giant Pandoras box consisting of all evils of the world. But if you take a closer look at the city and focus on elements besides pollution, traffic jams, corruption, violence and the risk of earthquakes you will find a city driven forward by the initiatives, creativity and funny ideas of regular people. Old road signs are reused as basketballnets, plastic bottles get new functions as garden sprinklers, and dedicated citizens turn into super heroes to rescue the city from further malice.
City resaerch and contemporary art
Citámbulos is a meeting between contemporary art and city research. The exhibitions capturres both the curiousness and uniqueness of this giant megalopolis while also dealing with the phenomenon of the big city in general. Increasing population, cultural diversity, environmental issues, weak integration between the different cultural and ethnic groups of the city are some of the challenges that Mexico City and the worlds other big cities are facing. The exhibitions underlines how Mexico City has become a central point of reference in the global discussion of the future of big cities and contributes to the international debate on how to deal with the problems of big cities today.
Mini-mega city in plastic crates
Around 800 plastic crates stabled on top of each other like Lego bricks will form the exhibition as a mini-mega city with streets, skyscrapers and plazas. Inspired by the metro system of Mexico City it is structured as a public transportation system inviting the audience to investigate the city through five thematic metro lines. On a journey through the metro visitors can stop at around 25 stations which open up the hidden stories of the city. Video, audio, creative maps, cultural objects, photos, installations etc. encourages everyone to dive into themes such as “city nomads”, “the magical carpet”, “camouflage”, and parachutist”.
Read more about the themes in the exhibition