40 Years of Photographic Memory in Guatemala

“Fractálisis” presents a photographic archive that outlines CIRMA’s mission over the past 40 years: to recover parts or fragments of history and transform them into a whole that is safeguarded and available to the public.

The archive primarily showcases the work of independent photographers, divided into six sections with photographs belonging to the Fototeca Guatemala, accessible for public consultation.

The first section is dedicated to photojournalism in Guatemala, emphasizing the artistic and informative value that this style offers. The second section is composed of diverse portraits seen as a practice that requires not only complicity between the photographer and the subject but also the skill to use analog and digital techniques both in and out of the studio. The third section highlights the work of photographers within the archive, expressing a passion for portraying their vision of Guatemala from various perspectives and styles. The last three sections aim to highlight the work of three artists who captured Guatemala from different perspectives and nationalities during the 1980s: María Cristina Orive (Guatemalan), Masahiro Umoto (Japanese), and Mitchell Denburg (American), founder of CIRMA’s Fototeca Guatemala.

Anaís García Salazar

Director of Fototeca Guatemala.

CIRMA