The space of the museum hosts the latest video work by Monika Weiss, a piece that fits in closely with the museum's chief aims of raising awareness of war crimes and human rights issues. The Museum of Memory and Human Rights was established in 2010 in commemoration of human-rights violations committed by the state of Chile between 1973 and 1990, to remember victims and their families, and to promote reflection and debate on those violences and seek ways of preventing such atrocities in the future.
Monika Weiss' Sustenazo (Lament II ) reflects these themes through a poetic re-creation of historical fact that ultimately manifests the reality of our conflict-ridden world. The 28-minute video's title comes from the word "lament" ( sustenazo in Greek), an ancient expression of grief exhibited by women that has taken on a more universal connotation in our times. The artist uses lament to refer to the transgression of human rights and a collective response to crimes against humanity. The expressive images are accompanied operatic voices, music composed by the artist, and readings responding to the forced evacuation of over 1,800 patients and medical staff at Ujazdowski Hospital in Warsaw (now the city's Center for Contemporary Art) by German forces during the Warsaw Uprising in September 1944. Split into three sequences, the fluid narrative follows a woman moving slowly in a continuous gesture of mourning.
Monika Weiss (born 1964) is a visual artist working in drawing, installation, video, sculpture and music composition. In her art she analyzes relations between history and memory. She often merges performance with video art and sound. Before creating each work, Weiss conducts meticulous research, often collaborating with historians or archivists.
Source: www.museodelamemoria.cl