Claudia Bernal
Graduated in Philology and Languages from the National University of Colombia, Claudia Bernal immigrated to Quebec in 1991. Her on-going research on the different modalities of language lead her to concentrate on the multiple forms of esthetic expressions. She graduated in 1999 with a B.A. in Visual Arts/ Creation at the University of Quebec in Montreal. Claudia Bernal has developed a particular approach focused on the fragmentation of urban space and its impact on society and culture. The concepts of movement, migration, space, identity, are recurrent in her artworks. As an interdisciplinary artist, she has presented performances and both collective and solo exhibitions in museums, galleries, artists centers and public spaces in Europe (Berlin, Prague, Brussels, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona), in Quebec, in Canada and in the Americas (Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, Argentina, Peru). In parallel, Claudia Bernal keeps developing her research on installation and performance in the context of a Masters in theatre at UQAM. Her artworks are part of many collections, of Banque Nationale du Canada, Ville de Montréal, Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec, among others. Bernal was honored by grants from FQRSC, CALQ, CAC and UQAM. Colombia-born and Canadian, Claudia Bernal lives and works in Montreal.
Chamanika Urbana. Is a response to a need to establish a relationship between urban space fragmentation and social and cultural fragmentation. This video installation and performance is inspired by images of a Shaman in Mexico City. Using my own body, I am able to enter into a relationship and ritual with a Shaman. This ritual makes us reflect and ponder on the impact of globalization and the indigenous cultures on cultural syncretism. It examines the place art and culture occupy in contemporary societies.
Exhibition at Shift Gallery, Toronto, Canada; in the framework of aluCine Festival.
