Beto Shwafaty's 'Hablemos de Reparaciones' at Prometeogallery Milan

Beto Shwafaty (São Paulo, 1977) presents 'Hablemos de Reparaciones' at Prometeogallery in Milan, curated by Matteo Lucchetti, running until July 21, 2016. The exhibition draws on a 2015 Guardian article by anthropologist Jason Hickel, 'Enough of aid — let’s talk reparations,' which critiques European narratives of economic development in colonized countries and highlights unaddressed exploitation. Shwafaty uses art to offer a revised historical perspective, creating works with a textbook aesthetic that filter decades of didactic and tourist publications promoting a sanitized colonial imagery. The centerpiece is the video 'Afastando el Pueblo, Fantasmas de la Riqueza,' a filmed travel diary from Cali, Colombia, inspired by the 'pornomiseria' film genre of Colombian directors Luis Ospina and Carlos Mayolo. Unlike its model, Shwafaty's documentary embodies an activist yet gentle political philosophy, reflecting the postcolonial gaze described by Robert J. C. Young as inserting alternative knowledge into both Western and non-Western power structures.