« Amparar » Means protecting
This work is an invitation to take care of the
most disadvantaged children, to understand them, by providing them with an
education. There is a great injustice to children throughout Colombia.
The armed conflict, in the countryside and in
the urban area of Colombia, has been hard on children: recruitment, rape,
dispossession of their land and family massacres; these are actions that
continue, in a vicious circle. Children who survive grow up hanging out with
them all this experience and if some may end up as leaders protecting their
community, others, in the worst-case scenario, end up psychologically ill, or
committed to delinquency.
How can we judge them when we have seen all
that they have suffered? Nothing is justified. Their actions are the product of
their past. We are talking about the future of a country like Colombia, which
is decimated in life, education, culture and rights. - As an artist, I have had
the opportunity to work with children and, in this experience, I have
experienced different problems, such as child abuse, illiteracy, disease,
abandonment and lack of knowledge of their rights; in the city of Cali and in
the department of Cauca. All these factors prompted me to carry out several
projects in favor of the defense of children’s rights, by realizing processes
of resilience and encouraging them by other ways and alternatives of life, and
especially through the arts. Thus, was born the work «Amparar 2-0-5».
This work, drawn in the techniques of graphite,
charcoal and gold leaf on paper and canvas, testifies and represents the
reality experienced by the majority of children in Colombia. Continued
persecution and sexual violence by various armed groups, including the
Colombian army. I represent these executioners and desecrators by covering them
largely with gold leaf that I use to allude to spilled blood, which has as its
goal power and ambition.
"Amparar 2-0-5", contains 3 pieces,
each with a number as title, in the form of a key, where the first piece is
called - 2 -, the second - 0 - and the third - 5 -. Together they form 2-0-5,
which is the number of one of the penal articles in Colombia, which deals with
the offence of sexual abuse and physical violence against a person, whether
minor or not. From the
Colombian Penal Code:
{El Congreso
de Colombia
DECRETA:
Delitos contra la libertad, integridad y formación sexuales
CAPITULO I - De la violación
Artículo 1°. El artículo 205 del Código Penal
(Ley 599 de 2000) quedará así:
“Artículo
205. Acceso carnal violento. El que
realice acceso carnal con otra persona mediante violencia, incurrirá en prisión
de doce (12) a veinte (20) años”.}
According to Colombian forensic pathology and
for the period from January to May 2020 only, 6,479 children were examined for
alleged sexual abuse offences. One of the most shocking and sad statistics is
that 98% of these crimes go unpunished.
