Edgar Calel's Salt Mountain and Embroidery at Kunsthalle Bern

Edgar Calel, born 1987, creates a walk-in landscape featuring a mountain of salt at Kunsthalle Bern, echoing indigenous Guatemalan communities' fight against land exploitation. The installation includes ants made of copper and gold representing invisible farm and land workers. He also presents embroidery paintings made collectively with his family, depicting community life, traditional agriculture, ancestors, and nature. Calel, a member of the Maya Cakchiquel community, uses materials like textiles, stones, plants, and found objects in collaborative processes. His work highlights working conditions in export-oriented agricultural industries (palm oil, coffee) and their environmental impact: deforestation, soil damage, resource depletion. The exhibition is supported by the Dr. Georg und Josi Guggenheim-Stiftung and runs until May 10, 2026.