Expansion
John Hitchcock

Expansión was a multimedia installation in the Sala Políglota being on display in March-April 2008. It was the culmination of a very inspiring residency by the American artist John Hitchcock, which also included another project, Moving Target/ Cultural Transportation, a graphic action in the streets of the Colegiales neighborhood and on the trains of the Urquiza Railway with the participation of 100 artists from the three Americas.

ABOUT EXPANSION

Expansion is a large-scale installation made up of a multitude of images of varying sizes made in silk-screen printing on felt, hand drawings on the wall and video projection.

The work proposes a metaphor about change, cycles, resistance, collaboration and intention. The felt images depict hybrid mythological creatures (buffalo, wolves, wild boar, deer, elk) and military weaponry (battle tanks and helicopters). All of them are based on stories and memories of his childhood spent in the mountains of Wichita Oklahoma next to the Fort Sill military base. His representations of animals and weapons act as metaphors for human behavior and the cycle of violence. His work of art is a response to the invasive behavior of human beings towards nature and other individuals. The Xs drawn on the wall repetitively are comments about the US government, and its regional, national, and international policies of forcible relocation of individuals from one place to another (indigenous communities displaced by warfare or relocation of troops).

On another plane, Expansion is a statement about current events, such as the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis.