Chile Lucha

with John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins

1974 and 2014
HD Video, original EIAJ

Sound, black and white.

1974 version 17 minutes 37 seconds

2014 (Spanish version) 20 minutes

The video ChileLucha was part of the exhibition, Artists for Democracy, (in opposition to the military coup in Chile),held at the Royal College of Art, London in 1974. the video documents the large rally held in Trafalgar Square, entertained by Illuminati and addressed by union and political leaders, including Madame Allende.

In 2014, under the same title, the archive of Cecilia Vicuña concerned with the London exhibition in 1974 was held in Santiago, Chile, at the Museo de la Memoria y Los Derechos Humanos (the Museum of Memory and Human Rights) and at the Museo Nacional Bellas Artes (the National Museum of Fine Arts). The original video tape commissioned in London, had been archived by the University of Dundee (2005) and with the approval of the curator Paulina Varas, a second Spanish language version was prepared for the exhibition in Santiago - these two versions were shown as part of an installation designed and built by Carolina Zuñiga. Both videos are now a part of the Museums permanent collection.

The dual-language catalogue also included 'testimonials' from artists who had taken part in the exhibition in 1974
Link to video

NB Leggett and Hopkins, by chance, met one another after the rally, then edited the material they had both shot in Hoppy’s nearby studio. the video reflects the spontaneity of the production, using the new technology of the time.