A dupla dimensão da ausência : presença simbólica dos desaparecidos políticos na fotografia de Gustavo Germano (2006-2012)

Abstract

Based on the photographs from Ausênc’as, the research investigates how the essay promotes an intersection between personal and collective experiences by portraying the pain of family members of politically disappeared people, establishing a link between individual suffering and the social memory of the dictatorships. This connection is strengthened by the everyday life depicted in the photographs, which create connections with the viewer while denouncing the forced disappearances. With this in mind, we aim to demonstrate how the images from the essay function as testimonial art as elaborated by Márcio Seligmann-Silva (2008). Photography, by capturing absences, plays an important role in exposing and making visible uncomfortable presences. Therefore, we believe that the Ausênc’as essay acts as a means of reactivating the memory of the disappeared, helping to make visible the lasting impact of these events. To think about the potential of the image, we will mainly draw from the writings of Georges Didi-Huberman (2010, 2012, 2013) and Walter Benjamin (1996, 2006). The analysis is also grounded in Seligmann-Silva's readings on memory (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010), as well as those of Elizabeth Jelin (2010, 2012), Ludmila Catela (2010, 2012), and Beatriz Sarlo (2007). The time frame covers the period from 2006 to 2012, the years in which the artist conducted the first and last essays of the project in Argentina and Brazil.