Memory for forgetfulness
Public work, Tumba library 2022 - In collaboration with Afrang Nordlöf Malekian
Many relatives and friends of those who rest in the Memorial del Detenido Desaparecido y Ejecutado Político (The Memorial for the Politically Imprisoned, Disappeared and Executed) in Santiago, Chile, no longer live in the country because they were forced into exile during the Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1989). Cristian Quinteros Soto’s mother, Margarita Soto, seen in the photograph, knows many of them. She places carnations at the graves of their relatives and friends when she visits the site. Then she takes a picture of the flower and the grave to send to them. Similarly, when they visit Chile, her friends, and relatives send a picture of a carnation in front of her grandfather's grave, Hernán Soto Gálvez. Like the people buried in the memorial, the red carnation is a collective symbol of the fight for revolutionary freedom and an antidote to oblivion. By leaving flowers and documenting them, you remember the coup and the fates of relatives and friends.
