“THE GOLDEN RHYTHM”
HERE AND NOW. Anti-colonial Interventions
Museum Ludwig (DE)
2022
about the golden rhythm
“Donkey jawbones, such as the three gilded specimens in the work of Pavel Aguilar, have different meanings in various cultures. In some regions of Latin America and the Caribbean, for instance, quijadas are used as musical instruments: sounds are created by moving a wooden stick or plastic tube up and down or across the row of teeth.
Quijadas were also played in Africa and became firmly rooted in Afro-American culture through the colonial slave trade.
By contrast, the jawbone is associated in Christian tradition with Samson, who used the tool to slay 4,000 Philistines and liberate Israel. Cai Guo-Qiang’s installation The Age of Not Believing in God (1999), which is on display close to Aguilar’s work, features ten wooden sculptures that depict beings venerated in Christianity and Taoism, here pierced by 1,500 arrows.
While Cai is referring to the growing instability of religion in society today, Aguilar deals with the misappropriation of cultural objects, which, when displayed in a museum, are not allowed to be touched. A further connection to Christian iconography and colonialism is provided by the gilding of the teeth: one of the aims of colonial powers was to exploit land and people for the purpose of accumulating riches, especially gold, which was also used to decorate and furnish Catholic churches. This exploitation continues to this day.”
Joanne Rodríguez and Víctor Zaiden.
Quijadas were also played in Africa and became firmly rooted in Afro-American culture through the colonial slave trade.
By contrast, the jawbone is associated in Christian tradition with Samson, who used the tool to slay 4,000 Philistines and liberate Israel. Cai Guo-Qiang’s installation The Age of Not Believing in God (1999), which is on display close to Aguilar’s work, features ten wooden sculptures that depict beings venerated in Christianity and Taoism, here pierced by 1,500 arrows.
While Cai is referring to the growing instability of religion in society today, Aguilar deals with the misappropriation of cultural objects, which, when displayed in a museum, are not allowed to be touched. A further connection to Christian iconography and colonialism is provided by the gilding of the teeth: one of the aims of colonial powers was to exploit land and people for the purpose of accumulating riches, especially gold, which was also used to decorate and furnish Catholic churches. This exploitation continues to this day.”
Joanne Rodríguez and Víctor Zaiden.
©2024 pavelaguilar.com
“FUGA”
Picture a Vaccum!- Kunstkredit Basel-Stadt
Group Show. Curated by Eva-Maria Knüesel
Kunsthalle Basel (CH)
2021
about fuga and ocean echoes
FUGA, sound installation,
2020 Ocean Spirit, Performance,
Aguilar, who originally trained as a classical musician, uses an ancient technique from his native Honduras to craft instruments out of seashells.
The loudspeakers in his sound installation FUGA play back recordings of himself breathing and blowing through these instruments.
The bodily intimacy and proximity of the sound evokes associations with wind and waves and makes the roar of the sea an almost palpable experience. Also close to Aguilar’s heart are the endangered coasts, oceans, and indigenous peoples of Honduras.
Conch trumpets were widely used among the native peoples of America and still serve the Garifunas, an African-indigenous ethnic group on the Caribbean coast, as a musical instrument and means of communication today.
The installation thus symbolizes the culture that in 1800 was driven off the island of St. Vincent and scattered to the four winds and its ancient spiritual ties to the sea.
Pável Aguilar, b. 1989, lives and works in Basel
2020 Ocean Spirit, Performance,
Aguilar, who originally trained as a classical musician, uses an ancient technique from his native Honduras to craft instruments out of seashells.
The loudspeakers in his sound installation FUGA play back recordings of himself breathing and blowing through these instruments.
The bodily intimacy and proximity of the sound evokes associations with wind and waves and makes the roar of the sea an almost palpable experience. Also close to Aguilar’s heart are the endangered coasts, oceans, and indigenous peoples of Honduras.
Conch trumpets were widely used among the native peoples of America and still serve the Garifunas, an African-indigenous ethnic group on the Caribbean coast, as a musical instrument and means of communication today.
The installation thus symbolizes the culture that in 1800 was driven off the island of St. Vincent and scattered to the four winds and its ancient spiritual ties to the sea.
Pável Aguilar, b. 1989, lives and works in Basel
©2024 pavelaguilar.com
“DEPARTURE”
Reunión II Performance Festival
Exposición Island, Honduras
Curated by Andreas Wagner and Adán Vallecillo
2020
about departure
Shell horns have been used for centuries by indigenous and Pacific Island natives such as the Garifunas on the Caribbean coast of Honduras where I was born.
The shell horn is the only wind instrument used today in Garifuna traditional music and has a strong spiritual connection between the ocean and life.This instrument was commonly employed by Native Americans and may have also been used among West Africans, the exact origin and date of its initial use among the Garifuna are unknown. I learned to play it since I was a child.
The shell is made into a wind instrument when the pointed spiral top is cut off and the air is blown through the aperture with the lips. The closed, buzzing-lip embouchure used in playing orchestral brass instruments is also used to create the sound known as "the spirit of the ocean" through the shell.
Today I want to celebrate that we are alive and together in these uncertain times.
The shell horn is the only wind instrument used today in Garifuna traditional music and has a strong spiritual connection between the ocean and life.This instrument was commonly employed by Native Americans and may have also been used among West Africans, the exact origin and date of its initial use among the Garifuna are unknown. I learned to play it since I was a child.
The shell is made into a wind instrument when the pointed spiral top is cut off and the air is blown through the aperture with the lips. The closed, buzzing-lip embouchure used in playing orchestral brass instruments is also used to create the sound known as "the spirit of the ocean" through the shell.
Today I want to celebrate that we are alive and together in these uncertain times.
©2024 pavelaguilar.com
“THE ROOSTER”
HERE AND NOW. Anti-colonial Interventions
Museum Ludwig (DE)
2022
about the rooster
“In conjunction with the exhibition HERE AND NOW at Museum Ludwig: Anti-colonial Interventions, Pavel Aguilar created a video work for the foyer in which a rooster attacks his mirror image, in an unsuccessful attempt to defend his territory against a purported adversary. The process of geographically, culturally, and symbolically conquering and safeguarding territories is fundamental to colonialism and its aftermath.
Aguilar’s video shows the absurdity of territorial and patriarchal violence, emphasizing that efforts to create a fairer society should focus instead on the question of how the rules of colonial power can be unlearned. While rooster fights have a long tradition, they are highly controversial in terms of animal protection regulations.
The fights generally end with the death of one of the roosters, which is why they are forbidden in many parts of the world.”
Joanne Rodriguez and Victor Zaiden
Aguilar’s video shows the absurdity of territorial and patriarchal violence, emphasizing that efforts to create a fairer society should focus instead on the question of how the rules of colonial power can be unlearned. While rooster fights have a long tradition, they are highly controversial in terms of animal protection regulations.
The fights generally end with the death of one of the roosters, which is why they are forbidden in many parts of the world.”
Joanne Rodriguez and Victor Zaiden
©2024 pavelaguilar.com
“UNA GÜIRA PARA...”
HERE AND NOW. Anti-colonial Interventions
Museum Ludwig (DE)
2022
about una güira para...
“A güira is a musical instrument that amplifies rhythms. It is a
characteristic element in folk and Indigenous dances and
musical styles in Latin American and the Caribbean. A total
of nine güiras have been distributed as anti-colonial interventions across the second and third floors of the museum
collection.
Each instrument is inscribed with the name of a person of historical importance to the Museum Ludwig. Pavel Aguilar proposes these interventions as means to remove these people from their pedestals and so disrupt the “sacred” nature of the museum space.
The güiras can be played by visitors at specific times, and by touching the instruments that bear the names of certain artists, collectors, and patrons, visitors highlight the significance of these individuals to the museum.”
Joanne Rodriguez and Victor Zaiden
Each instrument is inscribed with the name of a person of historical importance to the Museum Ludwig. Pavel Aguilar proposes these interventions as means to remove these people from their pedestals and so disrupt the “sacred” nature of the museum space.
The güiras can be played by visitors at specific times, and by touching the instruments that bear the names of certain artists, collectors, and patrons, visitors highlight the significance of these individuals to the museum.”
Joanne Rodriguez and Victor Zaiden
©2024 pavelaguilar.com