Permanences

Escaping from violent relationships in my parents' home, I grew up with my maternal grandmother Clemencia, an ultra-Catholic woman. As a teenager, I began to photograph her with complicity and jocularity as a simple act of affection. Little by little through photography and the body I built a territory where my grandmother unravels the teachings of submission, violence and machismo of which she was a victim for years; she appropriates her body trying to reconfigure her identity and disrupting mine, helping me to build a present away from violence. Today our roles are suddenly exchanged. Now I am the one who takes care of her and accompanies her to overcome different ailments and illnesses that deteriorate her body. But the photographic act and our complicity have allowed us to inhabit vulnerability and resilience in company. Over time, thanks to her love, I have built a particular story that has allowed me to find a place in the world as a person and saved me from the darkness. These moments are but a reminder of our way of saving each other in the hostile present, of understanding the complexity of the human condition, and of realizing the capacity of art and photography to change our existence.