Cada muestra es, para mí, una oportunidad de extender la tarea de la memoria, y digo “tarea de la memoria” porque a esta fugitiva del tiempo, que tiende a escaparse en los silencios, esquiva y frágil ante las amenazas de la violencia, es una obligación mantenerla encendida y cuidarla de los vahos que amordazan y apagan. La sola tarea de mantener la memoria viva es todo un reto, por lo que expandir su fuego más allá de las fronteras geográficas, políticas, sociales y culturales, es una experiencia de valor incalculable, y una prueba de que escuchan solo los oídos despiertos.

Each show is, for me, an opportunity to extend the task of memory, and I say “task of memory” because it is a fugitive of time, who tends to escape in silence, elusive and fragile in the face of threats of violence, it is an obligation to capture it and deal with the clouds that try to obscure it. The sole task of keeping memory alive is a challenge, so expanding its fire beyond geographic, political, social and cultural boundaries is an invaluable experience, and a test that only awake ears can hear.

Tuve el honor, de ser invitada a Rise, a Season of Female Artist, Thinkers and Leaders en la Catedral de Liverpool como parte de una programación que nace en conmemoración del Día de la Mujer, una agenda de un año completo dedicado a celebrar y conmemorar el trabajo de mujeres de diferentes disciplinas, de diferentes lugares del mundo, y su impacto en la sociedad. No sin regocijo y gran satisfacción tuve el privilegio de que las 20 mujeres colombianas que me acompañaban dieran apertura a la temporada de Rise, el 8 de marzo, desde lo alto de una de las catedrales más majestuosas de Liverpool, donde se elevaron, junto con clamores y cantos, para reclamar su lugar en la memoria no solo de los colombianos, sino de los seres humanos del mundo.

I had the honour, of being invited to RISE, A Season of Female Artist, Thinkers and Leaders in Liverpool as part of a programme that was launched on International Women’s Day, a full-year agenda dedicated to celebrating and commemorating the work of extraordinary women from different disciplines, from different parts of the world, and their impact on society. And not without joy and great satisfaction I had the privilege of having the 20 Colombian women who accompanied me in spirit, give opening to the season of RISE, on March 8th, from the top of one of the most majestic cathedrals in Europe, where they rose together with silent cries and sacred music, to reclaim their place in the memory not only of Colombians, but of the human beings of the world.

Estas 20 mujeres a las que hago referencia son las mujeres de Sudarios, quienes tuvieron la valentía de hablar, no solo a través de palabras, sino a través de la gestualidad de su dolor. Ellas: madres, esposas, hermanas, abuelas, hijas saben que estar vivas y recordar es su condena. No obstante, tienen claro también que su presencia, sus rostros, sus palabras, su vida entera son el testimonio, ya no de su existencia, sino de la muerte de sus seres amados. Solo quien ama es capaz de entrar en duelo. Solo quien ama decide seguir viviendo porque su muerte implicaría el olvido de aquellos a quienes la violencia se llevó.

These 20 women I refer to are women whose faces I photographed in 2011 and printed on large silks, and whose ensemble I named Sudarios, (Shrouds), they had the courage to speak, not only through words, but through gestures of their pain. They: mothers, wives, sisters, grandmothers, daughters know that being alive and remembering is their condemnation. However, they are also clear that their presence, their faces, their words, their whole life are the testimony, not of their existence, but of the death of their loved ones. Only those who love are capable of mourning. Only those who love decide to continue living because otherwise their death would imply oblivion of those the violence took.

Es por ello que me conmueven profundamente las palabras de la Reverenda Sue Jones, que para despedir los Sudarios, fueron pronunciadas en la misa del domingo 25 de marzo: una oración que caló profundamente en mi ser, porque más allá de su carácter religioso, representa una voz que acoge las plegarias silenciosas e íntimas de muchos otros, y es capaz de hacerlas audibles; por la resonancia de su llamado por las mujeres del mundo, que al igual que las mujeres de Sudarios, han resistido y sobrevivido a los horrores de la guerra. El poder simbólico de la oración, más allá de la religión en la que esta se inscriba, está en elevar la palabra por encima del silencio, para reivindicar nuestras aspiraciones como seres humanos sobre todo hecho que nos degrade, en este caso, nuestras aspiraciones a la paz. Es por ello que quiero compartir un apartado de la oración de la Reverenda para nuestro país:

That is why I am deeply moved by the words of the Dean of Liverpool The Very Very Reverend Dr Sue Jones, who, before the Sudarios returned to Colombia, dedicated a special service and pronounced on Sunday, March 25th, a prayer that profoundly affected my being. Beyond the religious character, her voice brings together the silent and intimate prayers of so many people, making them audible to us. By the resonance of her call for the women of the world, by the beauty of the voices of the Cathedral Girls’ Choir, by the majesty of the sound of the pipe organ and the entire magnificent, symbolic gesture these words will for ever be written in my heart:

“And so we pray for all who are hanging by a thread

in war torn areas of our world. We pray for men and

women who have been affected by violence and the death of loved ones.

We pray particularly for the peoples of Colombia.

We pray for artists and their inspiration to reflect life in different formats.

We give you thanks for Erika for her skill and talent and

we prayer for all who bear the responsibility to

re-imagine situations and who help us re-think our roles

and responsibilities to those who are hurting in our world.

We thank you, God, for the skills of artists and musicians,

and for every means by which our life and worship are enriched.

Help us to be good stewards of your gifts by using them

always in service to you and to one another,

for the honour and glory of your name. Amen”.

Debo agradecer, además, a Mark Winfield, pastor bautista de Dallas, a quien no tuve la oportunidad de conocer personalmente, quién escribió un bellísimo poema después de ver la muestra, incluido por la Reverenda en su propio discurso, y que comparto aquí con ustedes, como una de las manifestaciones que la obra a suscitado, así como el sinnúmero de mensajes que día a día recibo de tanto de dolientes como de personas que, sin estar directamente relacionadas con la guerra, tienen las sensibilidad para saberse parte de la misma realidad.

I must thank as well to Mark Windfield, Dallas Baptist pastor, who I didn’t have the opportunity to meet in person. He wrote a beautiful poem after seeing the display, included by the reverend on her own speech. I am sharing it here with you as one of the responses that the piece has aroused together with the endless of messages that day after day I receive from both mourners and people, who, without being directly related to the war, have the sensitivity to know they are part of the same reality.

Floating in air

the pain on these faces

looks lighter.

See in their eyes

the things they have seen,

tortured by witnessing war.

Cathedral spaces cannot smooth

the trauma these eyes have seen,

Colombia's worst.

Faces peer from sheets

dancing in the wind,

each the size of a shroud.

Hear the voices of the women

silent but speaking loudly:

We're hanging by a thread.

Por otro lado, es preciso mencionar que detrás de cada exposición, y muy especialmente en esta ocasión, hay un número de personas que trabajan con gran empeño y profesionalismo, pero que más allá de hacer su labor, entregan algo más, algo casi indecible, una disposición de respeto profundo que hace posible que la producción y el montaje fluya de manera amorosa. Es por ello que quiero agradecer a:

Finally, I want to say that behind every exhibition, and especially on this occasion, there are a number of people working with dedication and professionalism, giving not only the best of their knowledge, but foremost something almost inexpressible: a disposition of deep respect not only to the pieces of art but the lives and deaths they represent. The production and installation of this show flowed from love, calmness and the final results are consistent with all the effort that we made together as a team for months. That is why I want to thank:

Liverpool City Council – Culture Liverpool RISE Team

Bev Ayre – RISE Creative Producer/Curator

Alicia Smith – RISE Creative Producer/Curator

Sarah Vasey – Sudarios Project Manager

Sam McEvoy – Project Assistant

Roisin Asije-Rooney – Marketing

Diarmid Mackinnon – Marketing/Social Media

Alissa Koopal – RISE Launch

Installation Team

Ken Johnson – UK Rigging

Mike Barrett – UK Rigging

Tom Meaney – UK Rigging

Ben Porter – UK Rigging

Nick Hill – UK Rigging

Stu Stalker – Event Design Ltd, Site & Production

Cathedral Team

Lucy Rafferty – Cathedral Event & Logistics Manager

Gemma Mirdamadi – Events Coordinator

Riannah Brown – Events Assistant

Dean of Liverpool, Very Reverend Dr Sue Jones

Mothers Day Project

Esther Wilson

Sarah Black

Laura Campbell

Andy Frizzell

The Colombian Team

Maria Adelaida Bohórquez – Conservator

Joseph Kaplan – Life guard and soul keeper

Natalie Lopez Valencia – audovisual materials

Ricardo Hernandez – assistant Bogota Studio

Other Liverpool amazing people I met

Catalina Montoya Londoño Desmond Tutu Centre for War and Peace Studies

Louise Muddle

Julia Coutinho Huf

Stephanie and Dave Powers

Francisco Carrasco

GRACIAS for honouring the memory of the victims of my country, Colombia. GRACIAS for RISING and celebrating the lives of the women represented in SUDARIOS. GRACIAS for welcoming us to your city and GRACIAS for all these new friendships I hope are just beginning.

Love to all of you from Bogotá, Colombia.

Erika Diettes

Orar - To pray