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<Français>
MONUMENT TO CIUDAD JUAREZ:
Only Women Who Die a Violent Death Go Directly to a Paradise

Video-installation by Claudia BERNAL


Video-installation and performance inspired by what at first were considered isolated events but now are clearly the expression of an historical sacrifice, an holocaust against women: the violent assassinations since 1993 of more than 300 women in the city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Located at the border with the United States, a ‘no one’s and everyone’s land’, Ciudad Juarez is a city of transit where thousands of women survive dreaming of ‘paradise’. This impressive artwork combines ceramics, wood, ropes, fabrics, stones, corn tortillas, and a video projection where the desert, haunted by feminine silhouettes, is a metaphor of isolation, solitude, and uprooted identity.

CALENDAR OF EXHIBITIONS

Olivieri du Musée d'Art contemporain, 185 rue Ste-Catherine ouest, Montréal.

Boutique-Librairie du Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, 1390 rue Sherbrooke ouest, Montréal.

Librairie l'Écume des jours, 125 St-Viateur Ouest, Montréal.

Librairie d'Outremont, 1284 rue Bernard Ouest, Montréal.

Librairie Zone libre, 262 rue Sainte-Catherine Est, Montréal.

Salon B, 4231 boul. St-Laurent 2è étage, Montréal.

Galerie Clark, 5455 Ave De Gaspé, Montréal.

IMAGES OF THE ARTWORK
click on the image to download it, printing quality

Image tirée de la vidéo de l´installation

Vue d'ensemble, Musée du Chopo, Mexico, 2003

Vue d'ensemble, Zocalo, Mexico, 2002

Gros plan d'urnes-vases, Musée du Chopo, 2003

Performance de l'artiste pendant l'installation

Gros plan d'urnes-vases

Vue d'ensemble, Mdc Frontenac, 2005

Gros plan, Mdc Frontenac, 2005

Mdc Frontenac, 2005

Gros plan, Mdc Frontenac, 2005

Metro Hall Square, Toronto, 2005

Metro Hall Square, Toronto, 2005

Metro Hall Square, Toronto, 2005

Metro Hall Square, Toronto, 2005

PRESS CLIPPINGS
when available, click on the link to access the article
N.B. click on <français> to download the French translation of the article (pdf)

Fiona JEFFRIES, "Claudia Bernal’s Monument to Ciudad Juárez: Circulating the Struggle Against Feminicide", in Representations of Murdered and Missing Women, West Coast Line 53, Vol. 41 No. 1, Printemps 2007, Colombie-Britannique, Canada.

Myriam HERNANDEZ, "Dignity for Victims of Feminicide in Ciudad Juarez: An Interview with Claudia Bernal", in Latin America Connexions-Conexion Latina, Vancouver, Canada, été 2006.

Cécile LEPAGE, "Hommage aux femmes disparues", in L’Express du Pacifique, Vol. VIII, No. 38, 20 mars 2006, p.13.

Quand on arrive en ville , Radio-Canada Première chaîne CB, interview by Danielle Marcotte, March 13, 2006.

Le Téléjournal de Colombie-Britannique, Radio-Canada TV, report / interview by Anne Levasseur, March 10, 2006.

CBUF Bonjour , Radio-Canada Première chaîne CB, interview by Denis Couture, March 8, 2006.

Red Eye, Co-op Radio 102.7 FM (Vancouver), interview by Karen Mackintosh, March 4, 2006.

Latin America al día , Co-op Radio 102.7 FM, (Vancouver), interview by Angélica Gutierrez, March 4, 2006.

Andrea AGUILAR, "Las mujeres de negro", in El País, Madrid, Spain, supplement Babelia, Saturday, February 18, 2006.

Mariette BOUILLET, "Claudia Bernal, Monument à Ciudad Juarez", in Inter Art actuel, No. 91, Québec, automne 2005.

John K. GRANDE, "Claudia Bernal", in Sculpture Magazine, Washington, États-Unis, Vol. 24, No. 5, juin 2005.

Marie Ginette BOUCHARD, "Un monument aux femmes de Ciudad Juarez se dresse sur le fil de la frontière mexicano-américaine", in Le jumelé, Montréal, printemps 2005.

Éric FOURLANTY, "Mémoires de femmes", in Elle-Québec, avril 2005.

Paul VILLENEUVE, "Monument à Ciudad Juárez", in Journal de Montréal, samedi, 12 mars 2005.

Nicolas MAVRIKAKIS, "Monument aux femmes oubliées", in Journal Voir, mars 2005.

Ernesto Prometeo MURILLO, "El Asesino entre Nosotros", in Proceso, Mexico, 9 juillet 2004.

Ana María MARIANI, "Un "feminicidio" sin fin : Artistas, intelectuales y organizaciones de familiares de las víctimas piden justicia" et "El arte se compromete con el dolor : Monumento a Ciudad Juárez…", in Diario La voz del interior, Córdoba, Argentine, Dimanche, 1er juin 2003. <français>

Arturo JIMENEZ, "Claudia Bernal montó en el recinto su instalación-video sobre las muertes en frontera: El Chopo, escenario de opositores al belicismo y a los asesinatos en Juárez", in La Jornada, Mexico, 10 mars 2003. <français>

Procesión de la Mujeres de Negro, in Proceso, Mexico, décembre 2002.

Mónica MAYER, "Artes visuales: Imágenes de una marcha", in El Universal, Mexico, 1er décembre 2002. <français>

Pierre-Yves SERINET, "Monumento a Ciudad Juárez: Sólo las que mueren de muerte violente van directamente a uno de los Paraísos", in Réplica 21, Mexico, novembre 2002.

María Eugenia SEVILLA, "Hacen procesión al Zócalo / Recuerdan a mujeres asesinadas en Ciudad Juárez : La artista Claudia Bernal montará una instalación con 300 urnas en el Día Internacional por la No Violencia", in Reforma, Mexico, 23 novembre 2002. <français>

BIO
click here to consult the artist's resume

Graduated in Philology and Languages from the National University of Colombia, Claudia BERNAL immigrated to Quebec in 1991 and completed her Master scholarship in French Linguistics at Laval University. Her on-going research on the different modalities of language lead her to concentrate on the multiple forms of esthetic expressions. She graduated in 1999 with a B.A. in Visual Arts/ Creation at the University of Quebec in Montreal, and started a M.A. in History of Latin American Art in Mexico City. Claudia BERNAL has developed a particular approach focused on the fragmentation of urban space and its impact on society and culture. The concepts of movement, migration, space, identity, are recurrent in her artworks. As an interdisciplinary artist (painting, installation, video, performance, etching), she stands out for the originality, energy and power of her works, and for her involvement in the artistic and cultural scene here and abroad. She has presented both collective and solo exhibitions in Quebec, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Argentina, Mexico and Germany. A Colombian and Canadian artist, Claudia BERNAL lives and works in Montreal.

This artwork was created thanks to the support of