The night before I crossed the border into Peru I dreamt of an anthropologist walking among dry mountains in search of a man who had lived for 3000 years. Local villagers said that the man was short and hairless, and that the secret of his longevity was so horrific that no one dared repeat it out loud. The anthropologist was haunted by this riddle - he would not rest until he discovered the truth. Exhausted…
This wasn't meant to happen. Contemporary artists are meant to obediently put their works on display at events like the Biennale of Sydney, while corporate benefactors bask in the glow of their own generosity. Never mind where the money comes from. In the world of biennales, from Venice to Port Jackson, artists are bit players in a carnival of self-congratulation organised by a global elite of financiers, bankers and CEOs. Of course, festival organisers tell…
Sixty-five million years ago a meteorite smashed into what is now the Yucatan peninsula, and ended the world for all the dinosaurs that had not yet turned into birds. The impact of this meteorite created cenotes, sink holes descending deep into the rocks around the crater. Millions of years passed, the earth warmed and cooled, and the cenotes became critical to the survival of the growing Mayan civilisation, which had no other permanent water source…
