Guanaquerx is a work that re-enacts the historic Andes crossing that sparked Latin America’s liberation from colonial rule in the 19th century, with the robot Guanaquerx, accompanied by artists, engineers, baqueanos, and 58 mules and horses. In 1817, the Andes Revolutionary Army, led by Argentine General José de San Martín, undertook a quest for freedom, crossing the harsh terrain at an altitude of 4,500 meters with 5,200 people and over 10,000 mules and horses. In 2024, 207 years later, this project retraced the same route, reclaiming the Andes as a site of resistance and reimagining robotics as a tool for planetary liberation. A full-scale exploration rover Guanaquerx was modeled after the guanaco—the native mammal of the Andes—and inspired by local legends. In an era when AI and robotics fuel exploitation, environmental destruction, and a colonialist future, Guanaquerx calls on us to envision robotics as a technology for planetary-scale restoration and reclaim it as a tactic for liberation and resistance.
Prix Ars Electronica 2025
Golden Nica – Artificial Life & Intelligence
