As we all follow the news about the developments of the coronavirus, seldom the international news showcase a particular pandemic carnage that is unfolding in the Amazon. In the hands of a president who has a historically antagonistic relationship with the native communities, a Covid19 genocide (with hints of ethinic cleanse) is in the making as I write this application. 
"Purge" focuses on an ancestral technique developed by the native people from the Amazon to take the poison out of cassava root and turn it into edible flour. For the specific case of cassava, a tool was created. The tipiti (see images) is a cylinder made of vine with handles on both ends. Its function is to dry out the root through extracting the hydrocyanic acid out of it
For the BIENALSUR I would like to propose a performative installation where the tipiti is the centerpiece. Instead of using cassava I will perform loading the tool with different materials that are connected to the destruction of the Amazon Forest and the subjugation of its people: hay, soy, asphalt and rubber. Each material will be made into a semi-liquid state, stuffed individually in different tipitis, pressed, and left draining
Tipiti embodies indigenous' scientific knowledge, culture, and sacred relationship with nature. As dramatic events take place in Brazil I propose to perform an amazonic purge: the creation of a symbolic ritual as a way to spark a discussion at BIENALSUR about the circumstances in the Amazon beyond the pandemic