
Daniela Szeőke
Vigirima Gathering / Encuentro en Vigirima, 2024
Triptych, digital paintings on canvas, 17” x 27” x 1” each.
Read Artist Statement
This work draws inspiration from the Vigirima petroglyphs at an ancient site in Carabobo, Venezuela. For nearly two millennia, these pre-Columbian rock carvings have persisted and captivated viewers’ imaginations.
This digitally painted artwork, illustrated by hand on Procreate and printed on canvas, challenges colonial frameworks that reduce Indigenous symbols to relics, presenting them instead as active participants in ongoing contemporary processes and dialogues.
Rather than attempting to decode the petroglyphs, my work embraces the space between the known and unknowable. As a diasporic Venezuelan who has been unable to visit this site due to displacement, I invite viewers into a speculative world where past and future, reality and imagination converge.