Exhibition catalogue
Río Abajo (Drifting Away) is a series of photographs by Colombian artist Erika Diettes, whose work explores grief and memory amongst the innocent victims of Colombia’s 50-year civil war. The photographs depict the belongings of victims whose bodies have never been found. Often, bodies were thrown into rivers to erase evidence, turning the rivers into tombs and taking away any chance of justice and closure for the victims’ families.
Using the ‘río’ (river) as inspiration, a spot UV texture was used to reflect the water and the title on an entirely black cover. Only against the right light can you see the details of the river, evoking the ephemeral nature of the river water and the lives of the victims, as well as the darkness of their deaths and the pain of grief and memory.