João Pedro Prado and Jacky Lai have opened their video installation maps.gaps as part of the exhibition what we dream of – what we pay for at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien gallery in Berlin-Kreuzberg.
On one side lies the affluent neighborhood of Morumbi; on the other, Paraisópolis, the second-largest favela in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. These two worlds are separated by a single, long avenue: Avenida Giovanni Gronchi. In São Paulo, this "somber New York of the South," the wealthy enjoy unprecedented luxury, while the poorest freeze on the streets. maps.gaps uses Google Street View, audio commentary and found footage to create an interactive map of inequality, exemplified by this prominent street. By producing a palimpsestic map that reveals underlying social tensions, this project explores the topographic manifestations of injustice and asks: who ultimately has the right to the city?
João and Jack’s interactive map was presented alongside seven other works by scholarship recipients of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation that were curated by Beate Eckstein, Sarah Klaußner and Annelie Pohlen. Corona, climate chaos, war: The world is spinning with crises. Meanwhile, the ever-increasing concentration of property in the hands of a few is leading to extreme inequality and putting the future of social societies at risk worldwide. The global crises and the incalculable costs of this gap and ensuing injustice are the subject of this exhibition in which artists offer a unique view shaped by their varied biographies. Special attention is paid to groups on the margins of society. What do they dream of? And what price do they have to pay for the world’s crises?
maps.gaps is João Pedro Prado’s first-ever video-installation as well as João and Jack’s second artistic collaboration.
