Urban Traces and Absent Bodies: Visual Record of Graffiti During the Social Protests in Colombia (2020-2021)

Abstract

The demonstrations of popular unrest experienced in Colombia between the years 2020 and 2021 were determined by the restrictions established by the Government to combat the spread of COVID-19. Given the difficulty of occupying public spaces, the relationship between citizens and protests is forced to transform, while the fortuitous encounters that characterize a dynamic city are reduced due to quarantine. Forms of protest have proliferated during this time, involving different levels of occupation of public space, and seeking to reactivate the streets. Actions such as large-format graffiti and die-ins seek to awaken the sense of solidarity and to reactivate the struggles of an isolated population in the private space: Thanks to the circulation in social networks of images of these actions, the aim is to evoke a bodily relationship between the viewer and the body referred to in the photograph or video. Thus, the boundary between private space and public space is blurred thanks to the reproduction of photographs and videos of collective interventions. This paper analyzed the potential of these two forms of protest, particularly from an interest in the relationship between the viewer and the image they can create.