Excerpt of essay in publication, 2025
An art criticism initiative lead by the Northern Irish Art Network (NIAN) and the African Artists' Foundation (AAF), Written By Us, Not About Us was formed to address the lack of critical writing in Northern Ireland and Nigeria. Working with eight writers in Northern Ireland and Nigeria, each writer was commissioned to write about local visual arts that they deemed significant.
'Written By Us, Not About Us’
Reclaiming Art Histories & Developing Critical Discourse in Northern Ireland and Nigeria'
Drawing on Northern Ireland's strong performance art scene, the following text looks at the work of Elvira Santamaria Torres. Her 2022 performance 'Salt Cartographies III' explores the construction of nations. Santamaria Torres blows countries into shape through salt scattered on the ground. Beginning with Northern Ireland, then the Island of Ireland and the UK. By blowing this sequence of countries into shape, Santamaria Torres explores their complex history.