De la Complicidad con la Agresion | Miguel A. Aragon

Flatbed Press is pleased to present “De la Complicidad con la Agresion” (April 15-June 4), a collection of recent works, including a site specific installation and new publications with Flatbed Press, by Miguel A. Aragon. Join us for an Artist Reception the evening of May 20, from 6-8pm.

Aragon is a native of Ciudad Juarez, a primary battleground in the violent war between rival cartels and law enforcement agencies for control of the drug trade into the United States. Thousands of people die in drug-related violence every year in Mexico. Content for Aragon’s images comes from photographs published by the media, in print and digital format, depicting crude and raw forensic evidence. Aragon’s work is derived from a need to find meaning in these brutal events that reposition the corpse in one’s field of vision, reminding us that our physical existence is finite. By using metaphors and visual metonymies to tie together process and subject matter he explores the idea of perception, memory, and transformation.

“Beginning with the idea of erasure as language, I concentrate on the use of processes that are reductive in nature. Any form of erasure, however violently destructive, can be seen as constructive in some way; something comes through the destruction, the negation of an image is not actually nothing. It is my intention to transform the image, through erasure, from crude and unbearable into a more beguiling or subtle way of presenting these disturbing images. The void thus creates a space that nurtures the memory of what was before, engaging the viewer with a more intricate experience of the image. What I am looking for, as a result of these deletions is not to forget the horrific crimes these images convey; rather, I am searching for an understanding of what has happened by acquiring a sense of catharsis.”

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