For this exhibition, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Panamá (MAC) becomes an immersive space of exploration. Panamanian Antonio José Guzmán and Serbian Iva Jankovic collaborate to create a palimpsest centered on indigo, unpacking its geopolitical and cartographic layers, as well as its connections to cultural and identity constructs that extend across Panama and Abya Yala.
Installation view of Electric Dub Station: The Return of Tomorrow. Courtesy of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Panama (MAC). Alfredo J. Martiz / @ajmartizj.
The show features immersive installations that fill the museum with abstract patterns connected to the Black Atlantic. Structured in three major installations, the show addresses exile, resistance, and regeneration, with indigo as the central thread.
As visitors move through the space, they encounter echoes of the songs sung by enslaved Africans on plantations, melodies that continue to influence Afro-diasporic musical genres. These sonic traces are interwoven with audiovisual and textile elements from the African diaspora, resulting in a rich soundscape that blends rhythms like dub, techno, drum & bass, electro, and psychedelia.
In Suriname and other Afro-descendant cultures, the color blue symbolizes the divine and the transcendent. It was believed to offer protection against evil spirits. Yet, it also points to the darker side of history, as indigo production fueled colonialism and slavery in the 18th century. The exhibition proposes a rereading of sacred narratives, exposing the traces of colonial trade and global economy system. Through lines, shapes, and pigments, it tells stories of resistance against past, present, and future violences.
The show includes installations previously exhibited at major international venues such as the Venice Biennale (2024). Now, in Panama, El Retorno del Mañana narrates and represents an archive of migration and political processes that continue to resonate within Panamanian society.
Electric Dub Station: el retorno del mañana is on view through August 17, 2025
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Panamá (MAC) Ave. de los Mártires & Calle San Blas, Ancón. Panama City, Panama
macpanama.org
Performance held during the opening of the exhibition Electric Dub Station: The Return of Tomorrow. Courtesy of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Panama (MAC). Fernando Bocanegra / @fernandobocanegraphoto.
Translation: Jess Oliveira