Damnatio memoriae, or condemnation of memory, was a punishment conceived by the Ancient Romans, to dishonor a convicted criminal. Erased from existence, the punishment called for the destruction of any aggrandizing attributes, including monuments, statues, documents, portraits, and coinage of said convict. In the act of erasure, the criminal’s hope for a lasting legacy is expunged from the face of the earth. As long as it disappears is an exhibition about memory in time and time in memory; and thus, the forgetfulness that frames our historical condition. In the act of damnatio memoria, each artwork will renounce its own existence in a different way — some of them leaving a trace behind, some of them disappearing completely — in order to ponder the abuses of memory, oblivion and the ways history may be translated, archived and commemorated.
Mientras desaparezca / As long as it disappears featured works by Anne de Boer, Derzu Campos, Marcel Darienzo, huber.huber, Rachel McRae, Himali Singh Soin, and those who wish to remain anonymous. The exhibition was curated by Francesca Altamura, Helena Lugo and John Kenneth Paranada and was held at LADRÓNgalería, Mexico City on Tuesday 20 April 2017.
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