CHORIZOS FOR MERCEDES

INSTALLATION, PERFORMANCE (with Mercedes Alvarez)
Found in Translation (curated by ExpoTranskultur). Helmhaus, Zurich
2022
Light stands, wooden bar, string, chorizos (paprika sausage), table and chairs.
Dimensions variable.

I was invited by the foundation ExpoTransKultur to interpret a migration story for “Found In Translation”, a project that brings together tandems of migrant persons in Switzerland, and artists.

In the tandem I connected with Mercedes Alvarez and her story. Mercedes emigrated from Spain to Switzerland in the 1960s. The result was an installation and a performance done in the museum with Mercedes herself.

"Chorizos for Mercedes" takes a type of meat sausage - with pork and paprika - typical of Spanish popular culture: chorizos. It is a simple and typical food, also present in the story written by Mercedes. Using a pyrograph, and while Mercedes read her story, I tattooed on the meat a series of words from her text. The words, like the chorizos, like the memories, form a scattered series of fragments, now open to be interpreted by the viewers. The performance ended with an invitation to gather and eat Mercedes' story - literally - as well as continue sharing experiences about migration.