ABSTRACT
The event of a violent death in the context of armed conflict implies a process of mourning in which commemorative and claiming practices are often mediated by images. In the Colombian context, these practices are a demand for truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition. These events exceed the limits between private and public and stand amidst the fear of speaking and the need to break the silence. In this chapter, we analyse the use of photographic images as a performative device that reveals these tensions within a civil resistance organization founded in the Magdalena Medio (ACVC). We examine two pictures of two female leaders who were murdered and how these images have circulated in the region. With the different versions of these photographs we identify the transformations that the domestic archive undergoes to become a visual element of political expression. Finally, we reflect on the performativity and affectivity of the photographic image and its potential to be collectively appropriated while resisting its institutional crystallization.
