Exhibitions
Dismantling the Foundation Stone: Contemporary Art and Critique of the Origin Myth in Chavín
The Lima Art Museum (MALI) presents in room 29 on the second floor the exhibition Fernando Gutiérrez “Huanchaco”. Psychoanalysis of the Lanzón of Chavín , a project that proposes an irreverent and reflective reading of one of the foundational icons of the Peruvian archaeological imaginary.
Psychoanalysis of the Lanzón of Chavín (2022–2023) is a multimedia installation that takes as its starting point the famous monolith located in the underground galleries of the Old Temple of the Chavín de Huántar archaeological complex. True to the playful and critical dimension that permeates his artistic practice, Fernando Gutiérrez “Huanchaco” deconstructs the symbolic place that the Lanzón has occupied within certain academic discourses, those that have consecrated it as the “seed” of Peruvian culture.
In collaboration with sculptors William and Edilberto Mérida of the Inkariy Museum in Cusco, the artist produced a faithful—though deliberately “soft”—replica of the monolith. Placed in the center of the room, the Lanzón appears limp and exhausted, animated by a subtle movement that evokes breathing. The scene alludes to a psychoanalysis session: the reclining monolith seems to be processing the symbolic weight of having been invested as the cornerstone of national identity.
On the surrounding walls unfolds a series of drawings that straddle the line between an archaeologist's logbook and a psychoanalyst's notebook. Titled "Chavín: Archaeological Notes for the Psychoanalytic Analysis of the Lanzón de Chavín Monolith," the series fictionalizes episodes related to Julio C. Tello and the discovery of the archaeological site, proposing interpretations that oscillate between historical rigor and imaginative speculation. These images seek to reconnect with elements of the pre-Hispanic past that persist in contemporary Peruvian culture, while simultaneously questioning the essentialist impulse present in certain national identity discourses.
