LABORATORIO ISLA VICTORIA

Laboratorio Isla Victoria was born in 2017 as a transdisciplinary research project that articulates Science, Art and Philosophy. This proposal takes Isla Victoria, located in Lake Nahuel Huapi, as a starting point as a metaphor for a larger problem: the social constructions that are made of nature, especially in the field of science, in northern Patagonia, Argentina.

The history of Victoria Island condenses not only the political developments in the history of our country, but also the dominant view of the culture/nature link. This small piece of land functioned as an “open-air laboratory” for the experimentation of plants and animals where, between 1934 and 1970, the aim was to construct nature according to the European Enlightenment model, importing numerous species to “improve” Patagonian nature. In this way, the project is based on the need to articulate plots that allow us to collectively rethink the inhabiting of a territory.

We carry out Art/Science and Nature residencies on Victoria Island (2019 and 2020) as a space of encounter and reflexion. The proposal consists of inhabiting the space for four or five days with visual artists and researchers in similar subjects, to then put together a proposal for a collective exhibition.

Isla Victoria, Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi 

Directors: Maia Gattás Vargas y Gabriela Klier