EDINBURGH.- Collective is presenting a solo exhibition of work by leading visual and performance artist Mercedes Azpilicueta. From Buenos Aires and now based in Amsterdam, this is be her first solo exhibition in Scotland.


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The exhibition titled Fire on the Mountain, Light on the Hill runs from Friday 20 June – Sunday 7 September 2025, and is being presented as part of EAF’s (Edinburgh Art Festival) programme across August.

Taking place in Collective’s City Dome Gallery, the exhibition is centred around the work ‘Potatoes, Riots and Other Imaginaries’, 2021. This comprises an installation featuring a monumental human-scale tapestry, sculptural elements associated with women’s work, and a sound piece that introduces whispered gossip and glimpses of voices and songs from social demonstrations.


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Azpilicueta’s practice is committed to an exploration of care and resistance, revealing lesser-known stories from history. This often platforms the role of women who have made a difference in the past, and who continue to inspire in the present. In this work, Azpilicueta forefronts the role of women in the context of her research into the Potato Riots of 1917 in the Jordaan neighborhood of Amsterdam, organized by working class women in response to food shortages during the First World War. These historical references are interwoven with depictions of the contemporary social movement #NiUnaMenos in Latin America, which campaigns against systemic gender-based violence and in which Azpilicueta has played an active role since 2015.

The tapestry’s rich and layered collage of archival and contemporary imagery references themes and subjects related to collective action, food economies, war and women-led global rights movements.

Forming a central part of the exhibition the artist will present a newly commissioned live performance, developed in collaboration with Edinburgh based artist and choreographer Janice Parker, that will take place on Friday 22 August as part of EAF.

Connecting the themes of the tapestry to the histories of Collective’s site on Calton Hill, the performance will be a live activation of the work. The exhibition will also feature drawings relating to the choreography, and elements to be worn or carried as part of the performance for EAF25’s closing weekend.

Azpilicueta’s recent exhibitions include a solo exhibition at Centro de Creación Contemporánea de Andalucía-C3A, Córdoba (2024), alongside presentations at the Barbican, London (2024) and Gasworks, London (2021).

Artist Mercedes Azpilicueta said: “It’s great to be presenting and activating this installation in a new way for my first solo exhibition in Scotland. Collective offers a unique setting to explore the invisible, often informal practices of social organisations and to expand my practice by collaborating with Scottish artist Janice Parker.”

Director of Collective Sorcha Carey added: “We are delighted to welcome Mercedes Azpilicueta to Collective and introduce her extraordinary work to audiences in Scotland for her first solo exhibition here.”

“We are committed to sharing the work of artists from beyond Scotland, and we are very excited to present Azpilicueta’s work this summer and connect her with choreographer and artist Janice Parker for a special new performance in response to our location on Calton Hill.”


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