MARÍA BERRÍO

Celebrated for works that draw on aspects of mythology and folklore to create compelling contemporary narratives, María Berrío has often focused on agency and survival, particularly that of women and children in the face of overwhelming ecological, economic or geo-political forces. In this new body of work, created especially for her exhibition in Venice, Berrío conjures an apocalyptic scenario, against which the efforts of her central character, in search of water, refuge, or simply the familiar aspects of her former life, become Sisyphean as she journeys through a world of heat and dust on the brink of extinction.

‘When the world ended, the woman fled the fallen cities in search of refuge... She walked great, silent distances... She would laugh and curse at the sun just to hear laughing and cursing, knowing full well that both would soon be extinguished. It was the inevitable that she was facing. Whether the geometries were open or closed, whether the world ended with a bang or a whimper, it ended all the same.’ – María Berrío