Antonio Paucar

The essence of Paucar's artistic practice resides in his performances, in which he constructs a rich tapestry of interpretations that transcend linguistic boundaries, and reframe Western narratives within the framework of his Indigenous Andean heritage. Through nuanced and concentrated movements in natural, urban, and public spaces, he delineates a vivid realm of imagination infused with symbolic and cultural connotations. The significance of his work lies in the evocative portrayal of cultural distinctions. For instance, in ‘Marcelinho’, he documents a performance where he attaches a bicycle wheel onto a stool in a vast clearing within the Peruvian forest, reimagining Marcel Duchamp's renowned readymade artwork crafted from found objects. Removing the spokes and interring them, he proceeds to set the stool ablaze, but the wheel's metallic rim remains, which Paucar then propels across the grass with the aid of a stick. Recalling his inspiration, he reflects, "When I encountered Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel at a museum in Berlin... it brought back memories of my childhood, when I used to play with a bicycle wheel."