Judith Parrott 

I travelled to Bolivia in 2003 with musician Miguel Ayma Tuco, the cousin of Indigenous leader Evo Morales Ayma. Miguel introduced me to Evo and others in his Aymara family, and to the vibrant passionate life of Bolivia. We would jump into a small borrowed car and within minutes be stopping to chat with some passer-by who would hop in beside us. Then another and another until a small car of 8 people would trundle to its destination 3 hours late, or may-be not at all. Amidst the laughter and the chatter it never really mattered. What was important was the people.

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The popular uprising erupted during my time in Bolivia, in resistance to the privatisation of their gas and its control by America. The resignation of President Gonzalo Sanchez de Losada and the rise to power of Evo Morales, made Evo the first democratically elected Indigenous President. Seventy-eight people were killed and four hundred injured.

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The second exhibition in my Place Matters series, Bolivia is a series of silver gelatin and ultrachrome images, a soundscape and sensory interactive items.

 

Funded by Ian Potter Cultural trust and the Australian Government through arts Queensland.