Homeland or Death, 2010
Installation. Perforated canvas print 8 x 8 meters
Photo: Marcos Morilla
In this work Avelino Sala reinterprets one of the significant slogans in 20th century politics, used both by rightwing and leftwing fascisms. As we know, the slogan was first used by Fidel Castro, but it is actually reminiscent of the manipulation by mechanisms of power in a strange alliance of ideals associated with heroism and survival. That is the sense in which a number of Latin American armies, for instance in Venezuela, have used the slogan when in fact, what is at stake is the importance of freedom and choice. Ultimately, it has become an advertising catchphrase because, as Elias Canetti reminds us, the use of this slogan is a rhetorical ploy that is nothing but the battle cry of the dead helping to fight the enemy.
