DEPICTING EXODUS IN TIMES OF EMERGENCY: BEATRIZ GONZÁLEZ’S ZULIA, ZULIA, ZULIA
No. 24 (2021-07-01)Author(s)
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Martín Ruíz-MendozaUniversity of Michigan, Estados Unidos
Abstract
This paper analyzes how Beatriz González’s Zulia, Zulia, Zulia (2015)—an oil on canvas depicting the plight of hundreds of thousands of anonymous immigrants carrying refrigerators, tv sets, and beds through the Táchira river—resists the regimes of representation that dominate the current debate about the Venezuelan migration crisis. By exploring the image of human silhouettes carrying their belongings as the ultimate symbol of this crisis, González addresses the relationship between politics and aesthetics in times of emergency while unveiling the aporias of nationality and belonging in contemporary Latin America.
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