(Old Constellations) Above Vila Itororó

In 2011, after years of struggle, the government of São Paulo evicted the last families living at Vila Itororó. The tenement had been expropriated to become a cultural center. Down at the empty Vila, only the exotic buildings and statues remained, preserved as listed heritage. In the skies above, however, old stories survive in the form of a blazing zodiac.(Old Constellations) Above Vila Itororó is a hybrid of virtual exhibition and interactive documentary that invites visitors to witness Vila’s history and reflect upon the trauma inherent to cultural heritage. By deploying contrasting forms of digital imaging, the work seeks to materialize the violence of the archive. The first part of the experience presents official records and artifacts in a seemingly realistic museum setting; the second evokes objects of memory and oral testimonials of former residents, which, like a haunting, calls into question the legitimacy of the monolithic state narrative.