The Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP) is currently presenting two distinct exhibitions that explore memory, identity, and historical violence in Latin America. 'Santiago Yahuarcani: The Beginning of Knowledge' features 35 works by the Peruvian artist that weave together Uitoto cosmology with the traumatic history of the Amazon rubber boom, while 'Video Room: Oscar Muñoz' showcases three video works by the Colombian artist that use ephemeral materials to reflect on political disappearance and the instability of the image.
These exhibitions are significant as they form part of MASP’s broader thematic year dedicated to Latin American histories. By juxtaposing Yahuarcani’s ancestral narratives painted on tree bark with Muñoz’s conceptual explorations of vanishing reflections, the museum highlights how contemporary art serves as a vital tool for processing collective trauma and preserving indigenous knowledge systems in the face of historical erasure.