Volver a Monsú: Rosario López

Certainly, Alicia Dussán and Gerardo Reichel Dolmatoff - pioneers in archaeology in Colombia - first arrived at Monsú in 1974, alerted by a resident who had come across a clue about a possible new archaeological site. It was not merely a coincidence, as two decades earlier, they had conducted excavations in the Bolívar department, with Cartagena serving as their temporary home.

Approximately a thousand kilometers and 50 years have passed since then. Returning to Monsú, the journey has unfolded both in space and time. The outcome of this expedition is the collection of artifacts that make up this exhibition by artist Rosario López, derived from her excavation, delving into the memories and representations of Monsú, as well as the landscape itself and the nostalgia from previous journeys.

Physical and cultural stratigraphic cuts, the interpretation of their textures, fragments of ceramics, and tools used by Caribbean inhabitants thousands of years ago, along with documentation of the findings, catalyze this exhibition, which also explores traces of a distant past in Guaviare.

How does one return to a place they have never been? The initial encounter takes place through the retelling of the discovery, the second occurs on the grass that now covers it, and the third is now, in interpreting the shapes of the original remnants that eventually lose their form. Here, López intentionally pursues that same blurring.

This materiality serves as the starting point for artistic work, crafts, and knowledge surrounding embroidery, ceramics, and the creation of shapeless objects. The occupation and abandonment of the land in Monsú at various times have raised, and still raise, questions about "cultural origins, external relations, and, above all, the extraordinary role that the lowlands of the Caribbean Coast of Colombia played in the prehistory of the continent."* 

For Rosario, these questions extend beyond the confines of a specific territory. Monsú is a stop on a longer journey that incorporates different latitudes to understand both external and internal invisible forces. The body in the landscape and the landscape in the body reveal intimate stratigraphic layers. Both external and internal quests, deeply tied to materialities and objects, unveil forms of creation and life.

Cristina Lleras

*Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff. Monsú, un sitio arqueológico, 1985 

Texto en español