Ceremonia de respuesta

Inspired by Julio Ramón Ribeyro’s short story “La Insignia”, Ceremonia de Respuesta, a solo exhibition by Rafael Mayu Nolte, centers on a namesake event carried out by a fictional cult between November 11 and 12, 1966.

The exhibition unfolds through the organization’s documents, which include letters from the President and elaborate on certain elements related to its objectives, ideals, and the creation of the Ceremony. From the few clear details, it can be understood that the event took solace in Lima’s bay, as a ritual enacted by various participants on boats and a massive fireworks structure.

Few remnants of its staging remain: posters with symbolism and encrypted messages, presented as general announcements for the organization;s members; storyboards of the ceremony, illustrating moments intended to be staged; and reconstructions of the organization’s main symbols. The exhibition concludes with a large-scale portrait of a titanic figure overlooking the Costa Verde, offered as a token of gratitude to the event’s scriptwriter, nicknamed the Obituary Writer.

Rather than presenting itself as a dialogue with its historical moment, Ceremonia de Respuesta positions itself within it, probing certain crossroads of the period (political, spatial, discursive) in search of existential reaffirmation through fiction, mystery, and detachment.