THE HAGUE.- How do we (re)write the history of places that have ceased to exist?

A long and unknown time ago, a canteen called “La Turista'' served sunny-side ups on glossy glazed plates with walls covered in colorful mosaic tiles. Once peacefully residing on the Nordic west coast in a place called Bergen, now, we find its stolen remains in The Hague, during an excavation in Sol Calero’s solo exhibition at 1646. Until July 10th, you will find Los vestigios de La Turista in The Hague’s art space 1646, a solo exhibition by artist Sol Calero, showing a new installation that transforms the space of 1646 into an archeological site. Digging grounds, we explore the transformative nature of cultural signs and stories through phenomena like exoticisation, commodification, and the gaze, while the once-upon-a-time canteen slowly resurrects by the mountains and the fjords.

The transformative nature of culture

Through painting, drawing, and working with found objects and fabrics, Calero researches how cultural stories and histories of places and people are changeable over time and space. From Salsa dancing lessons to hairdressing salons, cybercafés and archeological excavations: the artist’s immersive installations enable us to delve in with her. Wandering around Calero’s exhibition at 1646 and finding the stolen remains of La Turista, we get the chance to reflect: how do we (re)write the history of places that have ceased to exist? And what is the importance of the way we retell these stories?

Sol Calero (b. 1982, Caracas, Venezuela) lives and works in Berlin. Her work revolves around the notions of ancestry, culture, and the transformation of meaning that visual symbols can undergo in society. Calero intends to engage the viewer through her artworks which themselves proliferate meaning, imitating the cultural signs which she aims to explore. Sol Calero and her partner Christopher Kline run the Berlin-based project space Kinderhook & Caracas. Calero was shortlisted for the Preis der Nationalgalerie and nominated for the Future Generation Art Prize in 2017. Her works were exhibited in venues such as Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin; Düsseldorf Kunstverein; La Casa Encendida, Madrid; Copenhagen Contemporary; Villa Arson, Nice; Brücke Museum, Berlin; Nikolaikirche, Stadtmuseum Berlin; Kunsthalle Lissabon, Lisbon; SALTS, Basel; Studio Voltaire, London; Hamburger Kunsthalle; Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam; SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin; ACCA Melbourne, Melbourne; KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin; Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris; Dortmunder Kunstverein, Dortmund; Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria; Folkestone Triennial; MO.CO. Hôtel des collections, Montpellier; amongst others.