Listening spaces. Approaches to the artistic projects of Núria Güell: Flower Fair and A Godly Tale

Abstract

This paper analyses the projects Flower Fair (Medellín, 2015-16) and A Godly Tale (Mexico, 2018) of Núria Güell, in which she collaborated with minors who had been victims of sexual abuse. The girls selected various works by Fernando Botero, at the Antioquia Museum, and Catholic paintings from the colonial period at the MUAC Museum, which would serve as a starting point for guided tours in which they verbalize what they had suffered. In these proposals, Güell initiates shared processes with the collaborators, who present themselves as accomplices, as political subjects. The paper focus in how creation could become an instrument to denounce the sexual exploitation of children and challenge to the viewer. In relation to the methodology, to delve into Flower Fair and A Godly Tale, we start from the testimony of the artist, the reflections of the minors, and theories linked to collaborative practices and feminism. Moreover, the paper explores the relationships of both proposals with artistic institutions and propose a critical revision of Art History’s dominant patriarchal gaze. Based on these initiatives, the paper will reflect on the political dimension of artistic creation as a device to visualize a systemic violence and as a means to speak out.