The living installation La Virgen del Inmaculado Corazón echoes two traditional Colombian celebrations: the Night of the Candles and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, which commemorates the belief that Mary was conceived without original sin from the very first moment of her existence.

The installation revisits the cultural impact of these popular festivities through video, durational performance, and traditional Colombian food. It connects to, and intervenes in this devotional imagery through a non-binary and radically performative lens, where the queer body, long stigmatized by colonial Christian beliefs, becomes a body-altar that reclaims the notion of being “without sin” while confronting the historical violence Christianity has imposed on queer people.

At the same time, the piece embraces and restores the communal importance of expressing desires, dreams, offerings, and togetherness. The work draws on kitsch aesthetics and references to Latinx syncretic Marian cults to create a hybrid, embodied, and unapologetically queer reinterpretation of a deeply rooted tradition.

Selection of Festivals, Exhibitions & Awards

Casas Colombia Berlin 2025, Cordillera Berlin

Credits

A living installation by: SIMON(E) JAIKIRIUMA PAETAU | Curator: SILVIA OSPINA | Dramaturgy: LAURA PAETAU | Costume Design: HAUFEN STUDIO | Make-up: SADA RAINS | Food: JAO MOON | Live Music: PUSSY DIVX | Production Management: LUCÍA GONZÁLEZ | Production Assistance: AGUSTÍN ESCOBAR | Camera (Video): GIGI ZÁRATE TOBÓN, MARTIN BACKHAUS, LUCÍA GONZÁLEZ | Color Correction / Video Compositing / Cinematography: MARTIN BACKHAUS | Still Photo: VANESSA MARINO | Distribution: ATELIER LAPAETAU | A production by: ATELIER LAPAETAU | Commissioned by: CASAS COLOMBIA BERLIN 202