"El Futuro es Una Ruina" brings together the recent work of artist Yavheni de León (Guatemala, 1990), who reflects on the ambition of governmental discourse to perpetuate itself over time. The works examine— through painting, sculpture, installation and engraving—the impact that nationalist fictions generate on subjectivities to implant homologated identities, as well as their pretense to remain intact even with the passage of time. With the sense of humor and satire that distinguishes his practice, de León approaches modern architecture, archaeological speculation and the "touristification" of heritage as devices of collective and personal memory, which foster dialogues between that which is forgotten and that which succeeds in remaining.

The artist's investigation is triggered by phenomena such as references to Mayan aesthetics in modernist architecture, shopping malls and amusement parks. The artist turns to architecture as a means of creating a dialogue between that which is forgotten and that which manages to remain. The process consists of distorting these ideological constructions, especially in relation to his search for a "national sensitivity" in the patterns of an indigenous past. Which, when set in contrast to the refusal of sovereignty to contemporary Mayan communities, brings attention to the racial dichotomy in modern Guatemala. In parallel, as he has done in previous projects, the artist explores his Maya-K'iche' family heritage, silenced by the country's racist dynamics, to evoke an intimate memory linked to the Maxán leaf and its use in regional food. This time, he does so from the paradox implied by archaeological interpretation, which, like personal memory, constructs a sense of belonging from fragments.

Yavheni's production is closely bound to the analytical thinking inherent to his work as a graphic designer. His reflections on the iconicity of symbols or typographic expression arise with critical sensitivity from a contemporary perspective to formalize an exploration of the advertising vocabulary that commercializes cultural heritage. In the same way, this formal sensibility serves to produce a sort of "archaeology of the future" that begs the question: What interpretations will the vestiges of our present trigger in the future?

The title of the project is a play on words between the search for the future in a fictionalized past, and the assimilation of a future impossible to imagine. The political tension of Guatemala's recent history, the recurrent cases of corruption within the government, as well as the constant threats against democracy—all issues made highly visible in the public sphere during the weeks prior to the inauguration of this exhibit— generate a need for reflection on the disillusionment provoked by the second interpretation: does humanity await a future burdened with collapse and destruction? How do we escape from the ruin?

— Jaime Gonzalez Solis, Curator and art historian