Raspachines’ Dreams (Health)
Miguel Ángel Rojas
Artist’s country of origen: Colombia
Materials: Coca leaf handmade paper
Medium: Installation, Print / Graphic Work
Size: 113x166cm
Year: 2007
Line of Inquiry:
Despite the fact that the illegal economy linked to illicit drugs is the second most lucrative business in the world, small coca plant growers and raspachines (those who harvest the leaves) receive only a tiny fraction of the profits.
Raspachines’ Dreams (Health) is part of a series of works with the words Housing, Health, Education, and Peace translated into the Nasa language. These terms refer to citizen rights that have historically been denied to many Colombian communities who, in their attempt to escape state neglect and poverty, have been forced to cultivate coca to survive. There are no specific terms for these concepts in Nasa Yuwe; for example, health is defined in Nasa as “Joy to the heart.”
The Artist
Miguel Ángel Rojas
Miguel Ángel Rojas is a pioneering Colombian conceptual artist whose work exposes hidden systems of power, marginality, and identity through an examination of his country’s social and political landscape.
