Javier Téllez's Amerika installation explores migration and power dynamics at New York exhibition.
Venezuelan artist Javier Téllez showcases AMERIKA (2024), a 24-minute film installation at the Center for Art, Research and Alliances in New York from June 1 to August 11. The film portrays eight Venezuelan asylum seekers who embody both migrants and fascists. It opens with viewers observing Charlie Chaplin's The Immigrant (1917) and transitions into a black-and-white narrative that alludes to Chaplin and Kafka's Amerika (1927). The migrants encounter a Spanish-speaking authority figure and face deportation when they protest. The concluding scene shows the escaped migrants consuming leather boots, reminiscent of da Vinci's The Last Supper. Additionally, two assemblages, Caminantes 1–4 (2024) and Salta Lenin el Atlas (2022), delve into political themes, referencing Joseph Beuys's 1972 work.
Key facts
- Javier Téllez's exhibition runs June 1-August 11 at Center for Art, Research and Alliances in New York
- AMERIKA (2024) is a 24-minute film featuring eight Venezuelan asylum seekers as actors
- The film references Charlie Chaplin's The Immigrant (1917), The Great Dictator (1940), and The Gold Rush (1925)
- Franz Kafka's 1927 novel Amerika provides narrative inspiration for the migrant journey
- Actors play dual roles as both migrants and fascists with only costume changes distinguishing them
- Caminantes 1–4 (2024) includes protest placards and boots from the film with interactive blackboards
- Salta Lenin el Atlas (2022) features taxidermy cane toads with Soviet coins and The Atlas of Venezuela (1969)
- The exhibition references Joseph Beuys's 1972 work about the Red Army Faction
Entities
Artists
- Javier Téllez
- Charlie Chaplin
- Franz Kafka
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Joseph Beuys
Institutions
- Center for Art, Research and Alliances
- Village East
- Documenta V
- Red Army Faction
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Manhattan
- Venezuela
- Europe