Memoria Fracturada

Thousands of people die in drug-related violence every year in México. By using metaphors and visual metonymies to tie together process and subject matter, I explore the idea of perception, memory and transformation. My work is derived from a need to find meaning in these brutal events that re-positions the corpse in our field of vision, reminding us that our physical existence is a temporary one.

Beginning with the idea of erasure as language, I started to create this body of work through the use of a laser-cutter. This is a violent process since it uses, via a computer, the output of a high-powered laser to create cardboard matrices. The cardboard burns through, leaving a layer of soot on the surface allowing me to then transfer it to paper. By only using the burned pigment as the source of mark-making, I am playing with the idea that those events are burned into the consciousness of the city’s inhabitants — leaving unwanted memories though continuous first-hand exposure to these massacres, shaping the way in which they continue to live their life just as the burned residue leaves a permanent imprint on the paper. There is some variation in tones along with different thickness of embossing, once the cardboard matrixes are printed onto paper, which alludes to a more physical degree on the impact of the events – the varying degrees of impact and permanence.

the series consist of 58 images

Selected images