One of my goals in producing art is to reach an understanding of why it is important for a society to be reminded of dramatic events and to explore the significance of recreating such moments. In my recent art practice, I have been calling on my childhood memories of the civil war in my country, Colombia. I have found this a particularly fertile, challenging yet ultimately satisfying area of work and intend to further explore how art can draw attention to the suffering that continues to be experienced by families in global conflicts.

 

I have been using allegories to portray my generation’s experiences during childhood and adolescence, while our society was being battered by terror and violence. In retrospect, I have come to understand that we did not realize how bad things were. Our childhood resulted in the belief that violence and upheaval were normal. Now, after living and experience an environment of security, free from crime, one is able to reflect on those childhood memories. I would like to challenge spectators with these memories and remind them that war and violence, with all its visible and invisible consequences really affected my country and is still happening, and still damaging the lives of children in many parts of the world today.

My figurative ceramic sculptures are two beings in one. The bodies of the figures are puppets , which are dressed and decorated as dolls and intended to draw the connection to childhood. However, what the heads represent are the victims of the violence, their gestures revealing their pain and anguish. One of my main aims is to create awareness of the injustice of children living through war while another is try to come to terms with, or at least better understand, what I experienced as a child.