Atacama | re‑(t)exHile

re-(t)exHile is a territorial research device that explores the ecocides caused by textile waste on a global scale. In its fourth stage, the project is situated in the Atacama Desert, one of the world’s main destinations for textile waste. From there, and in collaboration with curator Rodolfo Andaur, we have designed a route through the city of Alto Hospicio, located in the Tarapacá region.

Throughout this journey, we collected garments lying in the desert to create a large-scale textile installation. These pieces were later assembled with the participation of local collaborators.

Beyond the assumption that the desert is an empty territory, this proposal reveals the complex web of factors that affect the communities coexisting with landfills. Observing Atacama’s environmental dilemmas prompts two key reflections: on one hand, the sociopolitical conditions that shape these communities and what happens when communal life exists alongside waste; and on the other, the geotraumas that transform the landscape and the daily practices of these localities.
Moreover, the exponential increase in textile waste has created layers of fabric adhering to the ground—a perpetual symptom of how waste becomes integrated into the stratification of the soil.

Each stage of re-(t)exHile questions the global and local structures that sustain the circuits of production, consumption, and waste, while simultaneously shaping human and non-human bodies and relationships. Thanks to the collaborators who have accompanied the process, this action remains a living, situated, and critical research.