Imagining violence through landscapes

Alberto Delgado de Ita

In this artist talk, Alberto will share his perspective on how images of violence in Mexico have become disposable, and are consumed in such a passive way that they no longer shock the viewer. “How does one appeal to empathy when images of graphic violence have lost their power to shock? Is there an alternative, besides that the image of the newspaper becomes, unexpectedly, a family member?”

Alberto regards Acapulco’s landscape as, not only an aesthetic representation of a space, but also as a space to imagine its overwhelming violence – a violence that can’t be seen, except through traces and fragments that represent only a fraction of the systematic terror, suffering and awe. “If the landscape can be used to cover and hide, can it also be used to uncover and reveal?” This line of inquiry led Alberto to explore the use of landscape as a space for imagination.