Seba Calfuqueo (born 1991 in Santiago/Chile) is a member of the indigenous Mapuche people. For the artist, her engagement with their cultural heritage is the starting point for a critical reflection on the social, cultural and political status of the indigenous subject in contemporary Chilean society and in Latin America in general. In her artistic work, she uses installations, ceramics, performances and videos to explore cultural similarities and differences as well as stereotypes resulting from the overlap between indigenous and Western mindset. Her artistic research also aims to visualise questions of feminist and sexual dissidence.

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The video performance ‘TRAY TRAY KO (BIG WATERFALL)’ is based on the idea of the Trayenko, a waterfall that is an important part of the spiritual, nature-loving Mapuche worldview. The waterfall is a visible and spectacular expression of the water’s path through the atmosphere and landscape in its vital, constant cycle.

The video follows the artist on her way along narrow paths through a wild South American vegetation. Dragging a large, shimmering blue fabric strip behind her, Calfuqueo herself apparently symbolically follows the path of water through the lush nature until she finally enters a river and the basin of a waterfall. In her work, Seba Calfuqueo shows the power of water and reminds us of the symbolic and vital importance of access to water. In Chile, a country where 90% of water has been privatised and huge lakes have been bought up by billionaires, access to this element is no longer guaranteed. For a people like the Mapuche, this is a threat to both their culture and their livelihood. The physically filmed performance becomes an act of resistance.