Solidaritees

Description

There are many debated origins of the name America, whether it was named after Amerigo Vespucci or the Amerrique mountain range in Nicaragua or resembling the sound of Mayan iq'amaqel which means perpetually strong wind in Quiche, the Scandinavian Ommerike, Algonquin Em-erika, and even Saint Emeric of Hungary.

We present the concept of being American and the continent of the Americas as one and not assigned to a singular country or society, rather a community of nations that we are all part of. The image of the continent is also inverted in order to challenge the Eurocentric vision of the world. This challenge has been re-presented and re-visioned by critical cartographers in the past century. The first known type of this illustration of South America was by the Uruguayan modernist Joaquín Torres-García, often called the Upside-Down Map (1943). In proposing an alternative model and an artistic affirmation of the relevance of the continent, Torres-García placed the South Pole at the top of the earth. He also is responsible for the 'School of the South' which challenged dominant discourses and valued approaches from the periphery.

There you have it, whether you are Brazilian or Canadian, we are all Americanos, from North to South.