CLACS is thrilled to host Alexandra McNichols-Torroledo in sharing her selected collection with Indiana University and the surrounding community from January 25-March 1 at the Gayle Karch Cook Center in Maxwell Hall.
McNichols-Torroledo, a Colombian photographer and multimedia artist, has spent the last 13 years of her life documenting Indigenous communities in North and South America as they face monumental challenges imposed upon them by mega-projects and governmental decisions. In addition to photographing each community, Alexandra dedicates her time to standing alongside them in their fights for social justice and educating them in documentation methods that can be used to further aid their efforts.
Namely, Alexandra spent an extensive amount of time working with the Mura Indigenous community of the Brazilian Amazon, and remains in contact with them to date. While there, she documented the community’s cultural practices as well as the devastating scenes of deforestation which are quickly circling in on their ancestral lands. In an effort to help the Mura collect evidence of their struggle with illegal loggers and deforestation projects, she taught the community to use drones with cameras. Using these drones, the Mura have been able to capture images and videos of the areas they want to bring governmental and social attention to the most.
In her most recent lecture on February 16th, Alexandra was joined by Handech Wakanã, Indigenous Leader of the Mura, via Whatsapp video to share his message and plea for help with people outside his community. Wakanã traveled nearly 6 hours from the Itaparaná village to gain a strong enough WiFi signal for a video call to join the lecture. Following his talk, IU students and Bloomington community members were encouraged to ask Wakanã questions about his experience with Amazonian deforestation projects and what they could do to help.
McNichols-Torroledo thoughtfully uses her gallery exhibit to highlight other Indigenous groups (such as the Nasa of Colombia and the Lakota Sioux of Standing Rock) and asylum seekers who have immigrated to the United States as refugees from places around the world such as Ukraine, Iran, Palestine, Persia, and South Africa.
McNichols-Torroledo features her time spent with the Nasa of Colombia through her ESX/COCA series, which focuses on the traditional usage and significance of the now-controversial coca plant. This series is “an ethno-educational photographic project that seeks to deconstruct colonial and postcolonial visual narrative of the coca plant through a series of portraits taken at the Wasak Kweswesx School in the Nasa indigenous reservation of Toribio, Cauca, Colombia,” says McNichols-Torroledo. “There, children are educated in the Yuwe language and in the rites of the coca plant. ESX, which means COCA in Yuwe, aims to educate the public on the sacred nature of the coca leaf and its uses through the experience of the school.” (Alexandra McNichols-Torroledo Biography)
Her Water Protectors series focuses on a similar Indigenous fight for recognition and a change of modern perspectives: the NoDAPL protests of Standing Rock Reservation. Throughout 2016-2017, Alexandra repeatedly traveled to Standing Rock in support of the protests and to lend her photography skills in documenting the historical event. These long-lasting protests, which fought against the Dakota Access Pipe Line which was proposed by lawmakers to cut through the Standing Rock Reservation of the Lakota Sioux, were a beacon for Indigenous water protectors from around the globe — many of whom traveled to the reservation to lend their voices to the uproar of grassroots protestors fighting for clean water and what it represents to Native communities. An underlying current throughout McNichols-Torroledo’s Water Protector series is the Lakota phrase Mni Wiconi, “water is life”, which was chanted by protestors of all backgrounds during the NoDAPL protests.
Alexandra’s Stone Faces series highlights another modern-day crisis faced by many: immigration & refuge. Using an interesting mix of photography and transfer processes, the artist brings stone steles to life with portraits of refugees and immigrants who have relocated to the United States with hope for a better future. According to McNichols-Torroledo, “they represent immigrants that have escaped political or religious repression, gender violence, racism, apartheid, antisemitism, fascism, and war. They symbolize current issues in Ukraine, Iran, Palestine, Korea, South Africa, Colombia, and in the past, the horrors of the Holocaust in World War II committed by the Nazis.” She goes on to explain, “as a Colombian woman who has personally experienced armed conflict in my own country, I created this body of artwork to express my solidarity with all women who have had to migrate to escape persecution and are living in exile, but that are still tied to their cultural roots. For this reason, many of these subjects are portrayed wearing clothing that is traditional to their country of origin. Together, these women are fighting to protect our rights and for world peace.” (Stone Faces)
On Friday, March 1st, McNichols-Torroledo will give her third and final lecture of her artist series at IU. She will be joined by refugees from Iran and Ukraine, both of whom are featured in her Stone Faces series. They will share their personal narratives of immigration and refuge and answer questions about their experiences before joining the group in a gallery walk to close the exhibit. More information available here.
McNichols-Torroledo’s work will be on display at the Gayle Karch Cook Center in Maxwell Hall until March 1st, 2024. Her collected works address issues of immigration, human rights, climate crisis, and the ongoing efforts of Indigenous communities in North and South America to protect the earth.
About the Artist
“I am a Colombian and American photographer. My work bridges the fields of artistic and documentary photography using a range of alternative photographic processes and digital photography. Over time my focus has shifted from a personal exploration of my experiences as an immigrant in United States to global concerns of cultural diversity and human rights in my native country. Since 2011, I have been documenting indigenous people in South and North America, affected by mega-projects and violence that are imposed on their territories, changing their lives and cultural survival.” Alexandra McNichols-Torroledo
Alexandra’s work has been on display at various galleries around Bloomington, including the School of Education Library in October 2023. CLACS thanks IU Libraries and the School of Education for their generous sponsorship of the 2023 exhibit. CLACS would like to extend special thanks to the Arts and Humanities Council for making the current exhibit at the Gayle Karch Cook Center possible. We would also like to thank the Colombian Association at IU and La Casa/Latino Cultural Center for their continuous support of Alexandra’s events.
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