Eli Neira: Pursuing Community and Interconnectedness against the Commodification and Institutionalization of Culture in Chile

Abstract

Eli Neira (b. 1973) is a Chilean poet, artist, performer and blogger who resists traditional infrastructures of cultural production. The works studied in this article (an open letter to FONDART, ‘Big Money’, ‘Soy Terrorista: Anti Postal 6, al Mapuche en huelga de hambre,’ ‘Inmaculado Corazón’ and ‘Limpieza colectiva como obra de arte’) address the issues of consumerism and art, the environment, and religion and sexuality but they are united by an overarching project which challenges the commodification and institutionalization of culture by seeking out new outlets and audiences. In so doing, Neira seeks to occupy what she terms ‘zonas intersticiales’ (in-between spaces) or a ‘zona peligrosa’ (danger zone). This terminology, however, alerts, us to the inevitable contradictions in her practice as she resists, but is inevitably part of, the cultural field which she critiques. Neira’s work, therefore, is significant because it helps us to understand resistance as relational and not as something that is ‘outside’ or disengaged from that which it resists. Whilst her work alerts us to the limits of resistance, so too does it suggest more inclusive artistic practices which prioritize a sense of interconnectedness and community.