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Quito Without Shadow

Catequilla, La Marca, Rumicucho. 2004-2005

Catequilla is an elevation located north of the city of Quito, on whose summit is located exactly the midpoint of the planet. 0º, 0′, 0″ is the exact measurement that the GPS marks on the true Middle of the World.

This photographic work is a study of the light and shadows in the exact site of the Middle of the World and two other places that are in perfect alignment with the path that the sun marks during the solstice of December 21st. The photographs were taken around the aforementioned date in 2004.

In Catequilla, Rumicucho, the mountains of La Marca and the Pululahua volcano, the first settlers placed circular platforms built with stones to determine the places where the sun passes. These places are part of a construction system of nearby towns that are aligned according to the ancestral figure of the chakana that marks the path of the sun during solstices and equinoxes in a calendar year. In the land of the Middle (Quito), this path does not change position because the days and nights are kept in perfect balance throughout the year.