ART AND SOVEREIGNTY
Art and Sovereignty
Abrazo a Malvinas
A monumental sculpture of belonging, remembrance and the peaceful assertion of Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands.
Abrazo a Malvinas is a monumental sculpture conceived as an expression of belonging, remembrance and the peaceful assertion of Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands. Through art, it transforms a historic cause into a cultural and collective experience, inviting reflection on our identity, territory and the future of the South Atlantic.
The artistic concept is based on the idea of a non-intrusive work: the material used allows it to blend into the landscape while also being completed through the participation of each person. Its form invites visitors to sit on its base; seated between the great stainless-steel arches and extending their arms, they discover their own image reflected on the sculpture’s surface, visually projecting their hands toward the Malvinas Islands. The cardinal orientation of the work directs the gaze toward the islands and turns this gesture of affection into a symbolic embrace that transcends geographic distance. The visitor ceases to be a spectator and becomes a protagonist: the work does not merely depict an embrace; it invites each person to embrace Malvinas.
Art, remembrance and sovereignty
Sovereignty is not sustained solely through legal, political or diplomatic instruments. It is also built through culture, shared remembrance and knowledge of the territory.
The work advances a message of peace through the first gesture of love we experience at birth: the embrace of a mother and a father. To that gesture it adds vindication and remembrance. It pays tribute to those who fought, those who lost their lives and the war veterans, while reaffirming the determination to uphold the sovereign claim through dialogue and international law.
The embrace expresses a paradigm of rapprochement and fraternity: to remember without confrontation, to assert the claim without renouncing peace, and to transform remembrance into a responsibility toward future generations.
Environment and strategic resources
The Malvinas question also encompasses the protection of the environment and the natural resources of the South Atlantic. Its marine ecosystems, biodiversity, fisheries and energy resources, together with its Antarctic projection, are fundamental dimensions of Argentina’s natural heritage and strategic interests.
Sovereignty entails knowing, valuing, protecting and responsibly managing the resources of the territory. From this perspective, Abrazo a Malvinas links cultural identity with environmental preservation and sustainable development, fostering an integrated awareness of the Argentine Sea and its importance for future generations.
Art and Sovereignty
Alberto Morales
Alberto Morales, an Argentine visual artist and creator of Abrazo a Malvinas, developed a body of work after his Artist Residency during the 2005 summer campaign for the Argentine Antarctic Cultural Project, as a guest of the DNA, with the aim of bringing other audiences closer to what Antarctica is through the perspective of an Argentine artist shaped by a sense of belonging, territorial identity and the southern natural environment. His journey to Argentine Antarctica, where he came to know and interpret its extreme habitat in all its immensity, its landscapes and everyday life, inspired the project “Al sur del Sur, Antártida Argentina” (“South of the South, Argentine Antarctica”). This experience carries into his sculptural work, where art moves beyond the representation of territory to become an expression of belonging, remembrance and sovereign awareness.
The sculptural project
The work consists of a monumental structure made of 316 stainless steel, approximately 10 metres in diameter, 9 metres high and weighing 5,000 kg. It is conceived for installation in open public spaces and is suitable for a seafront setting. It requires no maintenance beyond regular cleaning with soap and water and has an estimated lifespan of 150 to 200 years.
Its reflective surface is non-intrusive: it visually incorporates the landscape, the sky and the people, integrating the sculpture with its surroundings. The arches create a participatory space in which the visitor’s body and reflection complete the artistic gesture.
The sculpture will have neither paving nor an ornamental pedestal: its structure will appear to rise directly from the ground, expressing the artist’s original concept:
An embrace that rises from the earth
The orientation toward the Malvinas Islands is an essential part of every installation, allowing the outstretched arms of participants to be symbolically projected toward them in a national communion on each anniversary of 2 April.
A federal initiative
Abrazo a Malvinas envisages installations in different Argentine cities, creating a federal network of sculptures united by a shared cultural and sovereign identity.
Each installation will establish a symbolic bond between its community and the islands, becoming a public space for encounter, remembrance and reflection. The orientation of each work will allow people in different parts of the country to extend their arms toward Malvinas and take part in the same collective gesture.
The project seeks to bring together municipalities, cultural institutions, educational communities, war veterans and organisations committed to remembrance, peace and the protection of natural heritage.
Art and sovereignty: a strategic perspective
At Fundación Argentina ASE, the project forms part of a vision of sustainable human development that integrates territory, environment, culture and knowledge. Art is a tool for bringing society closer to what geographic distance can make abstract. In this sense, Abrazo a Malvinas seeks to keep the islands present in the collective consciousness, linking historical remembrance with ecosystem protection, the appreciation of strategic resources and the construction of a shared territorial identity.