Catalogue > Un extrait vidéo au hasard

The video performance Las Hermosas Invisibles proposes a post-mortem connection between Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau and her/their recently deceased trans sister, Aérea Negrot. For many years, Aérea had been collaborating with Simon(e)’s artistic works with versatile sound creations. In Las Hermosas Invisibles, Simon(e) gathers and assembles all of these sounds present in previous collaborations, and responds to them in a new video-performance piece shot in the territory of the tum xula7xw of the sn??ay?ckstx people. The performance invokes Aérea’s spirit, memories, and the impact she had on Simon(e)’s life and work. Aérea’s artistic and emotional legacy continues to exist and communicate with Simon(e) through sound, music, and memory. The title ‘Las Hermosas Invisibles,’ directly references the term “hermosos invisibles” (beautiful invisibles) coined by Wayuu poet Vito Apüshana. This term represents the human and non-human entities that make up the living and thinking territory of the Wayuu people, with whom Simon(e) became acquainted through their collaboration with Wayuu artist Elizabeth Pirela. While the piece is dedicated to the memory of Aérea Negrot, it also encompasses a broader exploration of the legacy of other trans-ancestors spanning from Tibira do Maranhão to Sylvia Rivera.

Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau is a German-Colombian interdisciplinary artist whose work spans video art, installations, experimental cinema, and performance, with a focus on decolonial themes and queer cultures. In recent years, Simon(e) has focused on inventing myths and utopias inspired by rural and urban cultures in Latin America, challenging hegemonic discourses. In this way, they have created interdisciplinary works and collaborations with racialized artists and historically marginalized communities, especially Emberá & Wayúu, non-binary sexual dissident bodies (including themselves), and rebellious LatinX trans women. Simon(e) studied Media Art at KHM Cologne and Film at EICTV Cuba. Their films and videos have premiered and won awards at prestigious festivals and exhibitions like documenta14, Cannes Directors Fortnight, New Directors/New Films MoMa & Lincoln Center, Berlin Biennale 11, BFI London, and the New York Film Festival. Notable awards and recognitions include the Emerging Talent Award at International Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2022, the Norman Award at Stuttgarter Filmwinter 2023, the Best Director Award at the Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival Colombia (FICCI) 2018, and a nomination for the Queer Palm at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight 2022. Simon(e) has presented their performances and video installations at renowned venues such as the Wexner Center of the Arts, HKW, Martin Gropius Bau, Kasseler Kunstverein, nGbK, Ballhaus Naunynstraße, Shedhalle Zurich, HAU, the Sharjah Art Foundation, and the Cinemateca de Bogotá. In 2023, Simon(e) held their first solo exhibition at the IBB Video Space of the Berlinische Galerie—Museum of Modern Art. The National Museum of Colombia recently acquired several of their works for its permanent collection. Since 2024, Simon(e) is co-founder and artistic director of the transnational German-Colombian experimental artistic laboratory, Atelier Lapaetau.