Claudia Martínez Garay, Wakchakuna / We Who Share Everything and Nothing

Nottingham Contemporary is pleased to present the first solo exhibition in a UK institution of Peruvian artist Claudia Martínez Garay. This major new commission will take place in summer 2024, celebrating the artist’s unique perspective and diverse practice with an ambitious site-specific installation in our largest gallery space.

Martínez Garay studied printmaking in Peru, and her process of carving out, stencilling, and layering images in site-specific murals or free-standing sculptural objects exemplifies the influence of this early artistic training. Her practice has grown to encompass painting, sculpture, video, and installation, referencing pre-Columbian aesthetics and her Andean heritage, inspired by historic images, propaganda, stories and sounds from her home country. Diving into her indigenous ancestry, and the socio-political history of Peru, she brings to the surface lost narratives from one of the world’s oldest civilisations.

The exhibition will provide an opportunity for the artist to further explore her complex relationship with Peru, re-animating past works alongside new research into collections of historical and archaeological objects from the Americas within UK National collections.