El deseo de Leonor o la iglesia se expande en la ciudad [Leonor’s desire or the church expands in the city]

In the XVII century, on Córdoba’s most emblematic corner, in front of the Cathedral and Plaza San Martín, Leonor de Tejeda founds a monastery dedicated to Saint Catherine. In this beautiful house, where her nephew Luis de Tejeda became the first Argentine poet, the doors closed down to establish a regime of silence. She and ten more women obey the strict clauses of the cloisters, devoting their life to prayer and work in the monastery. To found it, Leonor donates to the Vatican donkeys, furniture, pigs, 1000 fish, horses, dresses, vineyards, water, sheep and corn. Thus, the church accumulates wealth while the women in the convents become large producers of objects, art and food. Therefore, in the cloisters they turn into free workforce and consolidate the modern capitalism in the city. The piece reproduces Lenor’s donations as pailas, textile objects for sacramental use. Source: Itaú Cultural Visual Arts Award 2019-2020 Catalogue