Provisional forms of conjuring the past: Ruins and artistic interventions in Villa San Luis of Las Condes

Abstract

The article contributes to the discussion about the concept of ruin, taking as a case of analysis the vestiges of Villa San Luis, in the commune of Las Condes (Santiago of Chile). Under the current scenario of heritage and property disputes faced by this iconic housing project promoted by the socialist government of Salvador Allende, we observe the ways in which the ruin represents a sensory rupture in the supposed space/time continuity of the city, and we analyze a set of artistic strategies around this milestone that -through suggestive and open visual resources- return visibility and memory to a space threatened by the relentless advance of the city.