Embedded Histories.
course:
Embedded Histories.
university:
Universidad Iberoamericana.
tutors:
Mariano Cardin, Brian Slocum.
date/semester:
spring 2016.
undergraduate semesters 5 - 7.
key points:
teaching, derive, memory, history through objects, haunted spaces, ruins, speculation, installation.
The site for the studio was an abandoned (and some say haunted) hotel called the Posada del Sol. The site never really functioned as a hotel and was taken over by the government. Rumor has it that the secret police used the hotel's basement to torture and "disappear" dissidents and criminals. The site is used mostly for television and film shoots these days, but it is possible to visit with an appointment. Visitors passing through the basements often leave candy offerings to the ghost of a little girl that many claim to have seen.
The students were first asked to explore the neighborhood in a series of derives using the book "Urban Navigation Guide" by Ivan Hernandez, which contains instructions inspired by various architects and artists. The students were asked to collect found objects to document and construct narratives for their explorations.
The studies of the objects form the basis for a series of speculative insertions at the Posada del Sol.