ATMEN
(breathe)
It is a video installation that constructs a series of reflections and metaphors on the desertification of the native forests of the Wallmapu, a Mapuche (*) region, in southern Chile. For the production of this proposal, the visual artist Marjorie Chau collected a series of forest waste from the surroundings of various villages. Each of these branches was painted with a resin that retains the light, making them glow in the dark with its own energy, thus simulating bone matter, a symbolism close to death and destruction. Furthermore, this imagery was syncretized with the mythology of the Kollones, who in the Mapuche cosmovision are, on the one hand, the guardians of the ceremonies and, on the other, the servants of the earth. They were named Kollones by the Machi, the religious healer and leader, and only they could accompany her until her death and in most of her rituals. ATMEN could also be defined as a request since we hear in Mapudungun, the language of the Mapuche, one of the Kollones verbalize how the river dries up, how the flowers do not bloom, how the moon has lost its cycle, and when and where we lost our roots. The room is filled with the aroma of essences rescued from the native forests of the Wallmapu region, with the idea that they cover the work, making a call for attention. A drop of hope to rescue the native forests.
Comment Marjorie Chau: The virus that is attacking us clearly reflects to me how vulnerable we are and how wrong we are. We are allowing our planet to collapse.
ATMEN, is a work with a theme that encompasses Chile’s culture and roots. At the same time, one cannot help but recognize that it is a global problem, the ecosystem, climate change and the unconscious destruction of the planet. It speaks to the understanding that we are part of an interacting whole and that every action or omission has inevitable consequence.
(*) - The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of present-day south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of present-day Patagonia.
ATMEN- Tech-Rider specification

The preliminary installation consists of 4 projection screens (diameters are variable) at different distances and directions, where the ATMEN video can be viewed. Each projection screen can be viewed from both sides and the video will be displayed phased on each screen. In the centre of the room is a small antique teapot that vaporizes a scent of forest and earth that represents the soul and the hope of saving these places. This scent was created with essences taken from the native forests where the fallen branches used for the installation were found.
BIO
Marjorie Chau - Light, sound, videomapping , textiles, performance and choreography combine in Marjorie Chau’s creations to create unique compositions. She makes use of a personal style of expression, in which choreographic elements, light, sound and video flow in, starting with costumes of high scenic impact. The core of her artistic expression is formed by expansive installations, in which the objects unfold their scenic effect through large dimensions in a kind of sculptural presence.Marjorie Chau, born 1979 in Santiago de Chile, studied arts at Arcis University Chile. In 2001 after graduating from arts she accepted an invitation to the Antagon-Teater in Frankfurt am Main. Since 2002 she lives and works in Berlin. From 2002 to 2007 she was part of the ensemble of Minako Seki, one of the main representatives of Butoh dance in Europe. From 2003-2004 she also worked at the Ikaron Theatre, directed by Carlos Medina. In 2005 she founded a successful performance group, Dulce Compañia, a project between dance and acrobatics, mainly defined by her impressive costume creations. In 2008 and 2010 she won the prize for the best staging of the Berlin Carnival of Cultures. She also teaches her experiences with costumes and stagings.From 2012 she developed as an artist in a more independent direction. With interactive installations, video mapping, light, sound, textiles and performance, she forms her own form of expression. The contrast of harmonious, folkloric image and space composition using ecologically critical material such as plastic as a symbol of environmental pollution creates a coherent, utopian atmosphere. This synaesthesia immerses one in Marjorie Chau’s spiritual and philosophical world of ideas. A mystical universe - a transformation of mythological narrative, socio-cultural criticism and complex spatial experience.