In On Falling Men and Singing Feathers, Ivana de Vivanco examines the colonial legacy of Swiss explorer Johann Jakob von Tschudi by contrasting his dissective view of nature with ancestral Andean traditions. Through lush, theatrical works inspired by the Alasitas festival and the Ekeko deity, de Vivanco reclaims nature as a site of reciprocity and cultural resilience, challenging the extractive logics of 19th-century science.

Tziih-tzih-tzi-tzi-tzi-tzi-tz-tz-ziiiiuuüüi reimagines a 19th-century Peruvian bird specimen from the Tschudi collection as the centerpiece of a poetic rebellion. Instead of the typical diorama, artist Ivana de Vivanco crafts a sacred altar where natural science meets ritual and the birds of the collection rise to reclaim the feather once taken from them. A delicate act of restitution, this installation offers the small Frutera Verdinegra a resting place, surrounded by care, symbolism and speculative resistance. It’s not just an artwork — it’s a belated mourning and a bold rewriting of history.

In La Yegua de Santiago, Ivana de Vivanco subverts the violent iconography of St. James, by shifting the narrative to his horse, who rebelliously dismounts her rider and becomes a liberated mare. Through richly colored, baroque-inspired paintings, videos and sculptures, de Vivanco transforms historical narratives of conquest into intimate, fictional scenes of emotional healing and pleasure.

The Temple of Inversion explores connections between the Apostol Santiago and its colonial iconography, the Inka god of the Lightning and the meanings of gold, celebrating Santiago’s fall and the uprising of those that once where under him. The exhibition space has been transformed into a temple with murals and altar structures, as an attempt to construct a space where people can come together and imagine new possible world orders.

Ivana de Vivanco’s work reimagines the myth of King Midas to critique our modern obsession with wealth. Diagnosing a “Midas Syndrome” in today’s world, she explores this figure and its connections to contemporary extractivist cycles. This series is inspired by Guamán Poma, an artist and writer who, almost 500 years ago, already warned of the urgent need for change.

In Splits and Slips, The Disobedient Banana, Ivana de Vivanco transforms the banana into a subversive symbol of protest—both absurd and politically charged. Through bold paintings and delicate, unsettling sculptures, she reimagines colonial myths, topples supposed heroes and exposes the violence embedded in historical narratives.

In Two Pennies for Myself and Tea, Ivana de Vivanco turns the gallery into a vibrant stage for critiquing capitalist power structures through feminist allegory. With glowing green floors evoking lost commons and figures like Ann Carter marching through painterly unrest, de Vivanco reclaims historical resistance while exposing the absurdities of labor and gender roles. Her sculptural interventions and vivid compositions unravel the violence of economic systems with humor and pathos, inviting viewers to reflect on the disjointed relationship between production, power and the bodies caught in between.

In The Partial Object House, Ivana de Vivanco transforms a London building into a fragmented, surreal body, where each floor represents a different anatomical part. Drawing on psychoanalysis and dark romanticism, she explores the human condition through theatrical paintings and hybrid sculptures. From the anxious mind to the emotional gut, the exhibition invites viewers into a vividly colored, uncanny anatomy shaped by memory, fantasies and desire.

In Pink Maneuver, Ivana de Vivanco critically revisits colonial and modern power structures—particularly the Cartesian split between mind and body—by staging a pink-hued, carnivalesque intervention into dominant narratives of Western supremacy and gender roles. Through paintings and sculptures infused with the vibrant aesthetic of Latin American Baroque and Andean carnival traditions, de Vivanco reflects on the violence of history and its continued impact, especially in overlooked episodes like the internal conflict in Peru. Her works do not seek resolution but offer poetic resistance through embodied contradiction, rhythm, and theatrical color.