aMa

aMa is a photographic project composed of digitally altered images from an archive found inside the Uruguayan Parliament. The photographs belong to the period of the civil-military dictatorship in Uruguay. This body of work arises from a selection of images in which the figure of women is practically absent. When they do appear, it is with their backs turned, out of focus, as companions, as “wives of,” almost decorative.

This work stems from the need to explore how women are represented in this archive and what gender role the dictatorship assigned them. A narrative of invisibility and erasure is evident. The Legislative Palace was a house of men: the politicians were men, and so were the photographers.

Women were mothers and wives, with no participation in political, economic, or social decisions. Their role was limited to the home, the family, and the reproduction of patriarchal values. From my position as a photographer working within Parliament, I select and highlight details that activate my sensitivity, intervening in the images to expose power and gender relations. Adulterating these photographs is to transgress their official narrative. Intervening in the archive is an act of resistance: a way of reclaiming space, memory, and voice for those who were systematically silenced.