La Loteria Exhibition
The artist Beatriz Albuquerque was selected to participate in “La Loteria” Exhibition.
Selected Artists
Josephine Coy / Yvianna Hernández / Jeanne Sturdevant / Tara Kathleen / David Trullo / Richard Meyer / Maria Liebana / Elena Rodz / Enrique González / Patricia Espinosa / Shannon Daugherty / Beatriz Albuquerque / Fay Torresyap / Saredt Franco / Ted Enik / Laura Conde / Art Garcia / Sanaa Khan / Raúl Mirlo / Giselle Elías / Stephane Eck / Tomás Hache / Chocolate Habanero / Cynthia H. Hsieh / Ral Veroni / Fabian Debora / Clari Netzer / John Craig Freeman / Chiara Cola
La Loteria is a game similar to Bingo. Instead of numbers, it uses a deck of cards illustrated with figures that represent everyday objects, plants, animals, mythical creatures and other characters. The origins of this game go back to 16th century Italy, where most of the lottery games (such as Bingo, the Lotto, etc.) were born, and where the first decks of playing card, including the Tarot, were introduced into Europe.
The specific origins of the Loteria Mexicana deck of cards are uncertain. The deck most commonly used today dates back to the 19th century, and was made popular by the French entrepreneur Clemente Jacques. Its images are part of the collective imaginary of Mexican communities in Mexico and abroad.
The potential of games of chance to produce an interpretative or symbolic relationship with reality has been discussed by many authors, such as Italo Calvino, who used the Tarot as an interpretative matrix in order to generate a series of intertwined stories in his book The Castle of Crossed Destinies.
The Tarot, once a simple deck of playing cards, is now associated with magic and divination. On the other hand, Carl C. Jung explored the potential that the I Ching has to help establish contact with the most profound layers of the unconscious mind.
The idea behind this exhibition is to use the images of La Loteria as a matrix that helps us generate dialogues, intersections, and points of encounter. This exhibition seeks to open a liminal space around these cards, a border-zone where it’s possible to explore our differences together.
The exhibition runs through September 10 to October 22, 2011.