Wednesday, May 4th, 2022
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
97 Kenmare Street, New York, NY
 

RSVPs are kindly encouraged for this event.

 
 
 

Join us for a guided tour with artist Miguel Fernández de Castro and anthropologist Natalia Mendoza as they walk us through their exhibition The Absolute Restoration of All Things at Storefront. 

 

The exhibition unfolds from a 2014 lawsuit that shut down the operations of a gold mine in the Sonoran Desert in the northwest of Mexico. This groundbreaking case, brought to court by the “ejidatarios” (communal land holders) of the mining site claiming that their territory was illegally occupied and exploited, ruled that the mining company was “obliged to fully restore the ecosystem that prevailed in this place, with its hills, mountains, waters, air, flora, and fauna that existed before.”

 

For the event, Fernández de Castro and Mendoza will contextualize the objects on display to hone in on land rights and the limits of the legal language that is meant to protect it. Concepts like the “ejido”, and other forces unique to this territory, will be discussed. 

 

About the Exhibition

The Absolute Restoration of All Things was commissioned by Storefront for Art and Architecture and presents a new film, a sculpture, a photomural, diagrams, and objects from the mining site. Together, these works present a panoramic picture of the expansive devastation caused by the mining industry, alongside the unattainable legal verdict that aims to restore this particular part of the Sonoran Desert.
 
RSVP for the event here.
 
Read more about the exhibition here.
 
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Support
The Absolute Restoration of All Things is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and Fundación Jumex.
 
Building Cycles has been made possible through the support of the Graham Foundation, as well as from DS+R; KPF; Steven Holl Architects; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; and by Storefront’s Board of Directors, members, and individual donors.