Traces of Living History

'Traces of Living History’ is a series of sculptures and photographs of everyday objects that examines how memory is carried, safeguarded, and activated through objects. It began with a visual archive of the streets during the 2019 protests in Chile. This archive draws on images sent by people close to the protesters and records compiled from newspapers and social media, shaping a fragmented, multifaceted, and constantly shifting collective memory.

The search focuses on objects that trace events and condense lived experience, evoking a reality marked by political and emotional intensity. From this premise, two elements were selected: a pair of gloves placed on a Chilean flag at a memorial created by protesters in Santiago, and the spoons used during the cacerolazos (pot-banging protests).

Both objects were recreated using the casting technique and subsequently altered. The gloves are pierced by candles and beans sprouting from their surface, in a tension between rage and hope, between what burns and what germinates. Meanwhile, the spoons incorporate the iconic illustration by Peruvian artist Álvaro Portales, reinforcing the link between image, symbol, and collective action.

Finally, the series includes words written on October 26, 2019, by Chileans living in England who responded to the question: How would you define in one word what you feel about what is happening in Chile?. These voices, condensed into fragments, amplify the work as a space of resonance where the intimate and the collective intertwine.