Drawing the Negative of an Ombú is a participatory performance lecture during which Estefania Santiago embarks the public on an artistic investigation across Argentina and Spain. The object of this investigation is the ombú, a centuries-old tree that once thrived in Mandisovi, a city in north-eastern Argentina, and which was introduced to Madrid in the 17th century by Hernando Colon. With as an accomplice, “the tree that has not yet been planted”, a temporary community that fantasizes about trees, the artist, and the public, all follow the trace of this historical tree that is a true vehicle of stories, outside of the predominant narratives. The investigation takes shape through documentary and fictional writing, images of places, the activation of objects, and the public’s actions in the participatory creation of a sensitive archive, the fruit of a critical examination of the colonial links between Argentina and Spain.

Estefanía Santiago is an artist, researcher, and educator living and working in Madrid. Her practice involves poetic research that takes the form of installations, photographs, text, and performance art.

The performance program presented at FRAC Champagne-Ardenne as part of this 7th edition of the Faraway Festival was curated by Mabel Tapia, an independent researcher and curator. Born in Buenos Aires, she lives and works in Paris. Her research focuses on 21st-century artistic practices that bridge the use of archives and political action.