Visual Archive, Colombia 2024

Las manos de mi abuela is a stop-motion piece that forms part of a visual archive situated in Colombia. The work seeks to honor tradition and the cultural practices of my country. As a starting point, the archive draws from one of the most intimate sites of origin, the family. It begins from my roots as a way of understanding myself and my production of culture, situating tradition within the gestures and rituals of my own bloodline.

At 93 years old, my grandmother, diagnosed with Parkinson’s, lives in a state of constant movement. Rather than framing her condition through its difficulties, the work honors her by attending to the beauty held within these hands, hands raised in rural Colombia, hands that nurtured and raised six children, and that now continue to care for the lives of thirteen of her descendants.

The decision to work in stop motion translates the movement of her hands through a sequence of still images, each frame capturing motion as it unfolds, becoming both subject and method. The piece is set to Pescador, Lucero y Río by Silva y Villalba, a song my mother used to sing to me as a child. This musical choice weaves together generations, tracing a lineage of care, strength, and tenderness.

This audiovisual exploration holds memory, care, and resilience, embodying the presence and legacy of the women in my family.