Sergio Vega
* 1959 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Paradise on Fire. 2007
Video
The artist about his work
At the Sharjah Biennial 8 I am presenting a video entitled Paradise on Fire. This project addresses the controversy regarding the Chiquitano forest, one of the most endangered eco-regions on the planet. Last year Enron/Shell finished a gas pipeline that links the source in Bolivia with the city of Cuiabá in Mato Grosso (the centre of Pinelo’s Paradise). The companies agreed with local and international environmental agencies to make reparations for the potential damage to the ecosystem as result of the construction of the pipeline. Instead, they finished the project and left.
Paradise on Fire examines contradicting views and expectations about paradise: pristine nature left alone versus modern artificial lifestyle. From this perspective, Arabia’s investment in creating an artificial paradise from the profits of oil exploitation becomes a paradox. In the case of the Chiquitano forest, reliance on oil energy results in the opposite: the destruction of an existing paradise.
© Sergio Vega. From the catalogue of Sharjah Biennial 8, 2007.
© Still: Sergio Vega. Repro: Courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation
Part 4 of the photo tour through Sharjah Biennial 8, 4 April - 4 June 2007. Biennial Director: Hoor Al Qasimi. Artistic Director: Jack Persekian. Curators: Mohammed Kazem, Eva Scharrer, Jonathan Watkins. 79 artists and groups.