Oro Verde by Ritual Inhabitual

The global surge in demand for avocados has driven drug cartels across Mexico to become heavily involved in the trade. In response, in 2011 a group of women from the community of Cherán (Michoacán state) took a stand against the local cartel and succeeded in establishing a new government based on long-standing Purépecha indigenous principles. For five years, the collective Ritual Inhabitual documented Cherán’s struggle through a blend of documentary and fictional photography, collaborating with local artists to create a polyphonic narrative. Their project, Oro Verde, represents a form of ‘mytho-documentary’ symbolising key events in Cherán’s reclamation of communal autonomy. This exhibition – their first in the UK – is co-curated by Rosi Huaroco and Sergio Valenzuela-Escobedo.

About Ritual Inhabitual

Based in Paris, Tito Gonzalez Garcia (France, 1977) and Florencia Grisanti (Chile, 1983) founded the shared artistic practice Ritual Inhabitual in 2013. The collective is composed of artists, curators, publishers working together to develop long-term projects that explore the role of myth within contemporary political struggle, particularly in relation to land, ecology and indigenous rights across Latin America.

In 2021 they were finalists for the Luma Rencontres Dummy Book Award for “Forêts Géométriques, luttes en territoire Mapuche,” published by Actes Sud. In 2022, they won the Musée du Quai Branly documentary photography prize for their work Oro Verde, due to also be published by Actes Sud in 2024. Their works have been acquired by multiple collections, including the Contemporary Art Fund of Seine-Saint-Denis, the Rothschild Foundation Switzerland, the Musée du Quai Branly and various private collections across South America. This exhibition will be their first in the UK. 

Supported by:

In collaboration with: