Fire on the Mountain, Light on the Hill | Mercedes Azpilicueta

Come and see our new exhibition, Fire on the Mountain, Light on the Hill, by leading visual and performance artist Mercedes Azpilicueta, originally from Buenos Aires, now based in Amsterdam. The exhibition will run from 20 June – 7 September 2025, and will be her first solo show in Scotland. Fire on the Mountain, Light on the Hill will form part of Edinburgh Art Festival’s programme, taking place from 7 – 24 August 2025.

The exhibition is centred on a monumental human-scale Jacquard tapestry entitled ‘Potatoes, Riots and Other Imaginaries’ (2021). Accompanying the tapestry will be a sound piece that introduces whispered gossip and glimpses of songs from social demonstrations.

This mixed media installation weaves together historic and contemporary themes – inspired by the artist’s research of the 1917 Potato Riots in the Jordaan neighbourhood of Amsterdam, directly organised by working class women of this community in response to the extreme food shortages they faced during the First World War.

The work also references contemporary collective action in the form of Ni Una Menos – the feminist grass roots social movement in Argentina, in which Azpilicueta has played an active role since 2015.

A newly commissioned performance on Friday 22 August will draw connections between the themes of the tapestry to Collective’s site on Calton Hill.  Azpilicueta has come together with award winning, Edinburgh-based artist and choreographer Janice Parker to devise this live event along with other Scottish performers. The exhibition will present drawings relating to the choreography and costumes that will be worn as part of the performance for Edinburgh Art Festival’s closing weekend.