Resisting the presentMexico 2000/2012

The arts scene in Mexico has been dynamic at an international level for over twenty years, affected by the extraordinary political and economic developments in the country over this period

and by the development of its cultural institutions (MUAC – Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo, Museo Tamayo, Fundación Jumex, galleries, collectors, alternative venues, etc.).

This dynamism was boosted by the influence of the 90s generation, which revolutionised people’s image of Mexican art and made it one of the key alternative trends of the decade 1990-2000.The

artists presented in this exhibition are the heirs of this generation. They draw inspiration from it, whilst at the same time keeping their distance. Most of them have been active since the

2000s and have to deal with a different historical context, which is more sombre than that of their elders. The revolution caused by economic (North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994)

and technological globalisation, hopes for the advent of civil democracy followed by profound disillusion and the mounting social tensions brought about by corruption and violence have

created an intense climate.

The artists brought together in this exhibition come from different backgrounds (visual arts, cinema, documentary, etc.). They use differing strategies, which may take the form of poetic

activism, the diversion of national problems (drugs war, criminality, corruption, identity, immigration and borders). Each one expresses more or less explicitly the awareness of an economic

model in crisis and the climate of concern currently experienced by societies undergoing the challenges of globalization.

The exhibition was presented at the Amparo Museum in Puebla (Mexico) until 15 January 2012. It is the result of shared research between these two museums.

“Resisting the Present. Mexico 2000/2012” catalogue: four essays by Angeline Scherf and Angeles Alonso Espinosa, Serge Gruzinski, Magalí Arriola, Guillermo Fadanelli, an interview between

Alejandro Jodorowsky and Bayrol Jiménez, a chronology by Michel Blanscubé and detailed notes on each artist presented. Editions Paris Musées, 360 pages, 30 Euros.