Unveiling the Shadow. A Reading of the Installation Ipso Facto (2013) by Arnaldo Cristaldo, Realized in Asunción, Paraguay.

This paper proposes a reading of the 2013 work Ipso Facto, by Paraguayan artist Arnaldo Cristaldo, created shortly after the 2012 Political Crisis in Paraguay, which led to the impeachment of the then president of the Republic, Fernando Lugo.

The analysis begins with the methodology on which the research is based, and is subsequently divided into three areas, firstly, the recognition of certain political and social factors that could have influenced the creation of the work in question and the relationship of political and social factors with it. Subsequently, it addresses the way in which the artistic manifestations that took place after the aforementioned 2012 crisis in Paraguay influenced the creation of Ipso Facto. And finally, the relationship of Ipso Facto with the concept of the shadow archetype according to Carl Jung, and Alfred Gell’s theory of the social nexus of art.

The research is based on a political and social context in which the cause of the rupture generated in 2012, still continues to generate consequences in different political and social spheres of Paraguay. And a necessary reflection on the work of the chosen artist, due to the scarce existing information about it.

The purpose of this work is to generate a complementary reading to those already existing on the work of Arnaldo Cristaldo, carried out in 2013. From the crossing with concepts taken from analytical psychology and social anthropology. This reading is generated from an analogy between events that occurred in the social and political sphere, chosen for the research purpose, and how these generate elements that are present in the artistic installation Ipso Facto. Later on, we seek to raise an interpretation based on theoretical postulates about the work generated from a key event in the history of Paraguay. The methodological approach for this research is comprehensive, including a qualitative analysis and a bibliographic review.

The elaboration of this analysis intends to encourage support in the academic field of cultural issues, in the country and in the region, especially for researchers of contemporary art and cultural studies.