The Bleeding Country. Shredded Pieces and Erasures of Urban Violence in Venezuelan Nelson Garrido’s Photography

Abstract

Nelson Garrido's photography of (Caracas, Venezuela, 1952) is not common. Rather it stands out for its harshness against the frame it points; is this type of images that, to paraphrase Susan Sontag, should pursue society to say "This is what humans dare to do, and perhaps offer to do, enthusiastically" (Facing others' pain, 2003: 133-134): "Bloody Caracas", the iconic Central Park, architecture signed by Caracas modernity, is photographed and intervened with threads of blood, with a large red river which flows from its buildings and towers and inundates its surroundings. Face to face with his photos, the viewer feels revulsion and fear, and violence is responsible for imposing distance.