The Eye that Cries (El Ojo que Llora in Spanish) is a memorial that was born as a private initiative designed to honor the thousands of victims as a result of internal armed conflict in Peru, to strengthen the collective memory of all Peruvians and to promote peace and reconciliation in the country[1]. It is located at Campo de Marte, in the Jesús María district of Lima. It was conceived by the Dutch artist Lika Mutal and executed by the architectural firm of Luis Longhi.
The Eye that Cries is part of a larger project called The Memory Alameda which will incorporate other art pieces, large extensions of green areas and the Museum of Memory (Yuyanapaq).
History edit
Fujimori and The role of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission edit
Evidence of Fujimori's corrupt government surfaced and led him to flee to Japan in 2000. Due to the massive amount of corruption during Alberto Fujimori's presidential terms that included blackmail, bribes, and vote-rigging, an investigation into his administration began in 2000 that was led by Alejandro Toledo. The Peruvian government was then urged by human rights organizations to form the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) which would investigate the political violence, human rights violations, and government corruption that had afflicted Peru since the 1980's and during Fujimori's presidential terms. When the TRC finished its final report in August of 2003, it recommended that to help aid the process of reconciliation, memorials need to be created to pay tribute to the many victims of political violence in Peru. In 2004, Jesus Maria, a district in Lima, was designated as the location for the project Alameda de La Memoria which would give an actual place to the many marginalized voices that were silenced and victimized during the decades of Peruvian conflict. [2] Alameda de la Memoria would provide a space to contemplate and remember, not only for the victims and their families, but also for the Peruvian population. This project would be located in the park El Campo de Marte, and would include the memorial The Eye That Cries.
Controversy edit
When Lika Mutal began to work on creating The Eye That Cries, she was given a list of names of individuals who were considered to be victims of violence. This list of names was supplied by the TRC, and she would later incorporate the nearly 32,000 names into the monument. Unknown to her, the list of names she was given included not only the thousands of victims who were killed during decades of Peru's armed conflict, but also the names of 41 victims who were killed in Castro Castro Prison during a prison raid in May of 1992. [3] The victims killed during the Castro Castro Prison raid were "organizers and militants of the Shining Path, Peru's notorious guerrilla movement. [4] A large number of the Peruvian population views the members of the Shining Path as terrorists responsible for a majority of the deaths of victims of armed conflict in Peru during the 1980's and 1990's. [5] The inclusion of the names of those murdered due to political unrest, guerrilla attacks, and prison raids creates a clash when at times both victims and perpetrators are included side by side and deemed as victims. This conflict leads to the question of what constitutes a victim, who has the right to judge whether an individual is a victim, and whether a criminal can be considered a victim. From the perspective of International Human Rights Laws "those killed extra judicially, including convicted criminals" are considered victims. [6] Yet, from the perspective of a majority of the Peruvian population, the members of Shining Path were considered to be terrorists responsible for mass murders and destruction.
When Like Mutal completed The Eye That Cries in 2005, it did not create any major controversies, as both the artist, and the Peruvian Population were unaware that the names of 41 Senderistas were included among the 32,000 names of victims written in stones. In November of 2006, a ruling by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights based on investigations of the prison raid in Castro Castro and the deaths of the 41 inmates, stated that these deaths were a violation of human rights. After being accused of human rights violations, Peru was instructed to give reparations to the families of the Castro Castro victims and give a public acknowledgment and ceremony that paid honor to the victims and the families of those whose human rights were violated in the Castro Castro raid. In addition, the ruling of the Inter-American Court stated that the names of these victims be included in The Eye that Cries monument within the coming year. [7]
When the rulings of the Inter American Court in 2006 became known, the public and the press expressed outrage. Although the prisoners of the Castro Castro prison had indeed suffered human rights violations, they were still deemed “terrorists” by the majority of the Peruvian public and press. The idea that victims and “their perpetrators’” names would be combined under a monument that symbolized reconciliation and a place for family members to mourn their lost ones was one that the Peruvian public was not willing to support. What was ironic though, was that the names of the Castro Castro prison victims had been included in The Eye that Cries since 2005. It took well over one year for the Peruvian press to become aware of this transgression, and it was only because of the ruling of the Inter American Court that the subject itself was brought to light. [8]The differing opinions regarding The Eye that Cries halted the completion of the Memory Alameda, which if realized would have been a three part installation. [9]
Vandalism edit
In September 2007, Alberto Fujimori was extradited from Chile to Peru where he would stand trial for the violations of human rights and corruption that occurred during his presidential terms. The day after Alberto Fujimori arrived in Lima, Peru, a group of men and women vandalized The Eye that Cries by destroying stones and pouring orange paint on the central stone, and then littering the monument with paint cans. It is believed that the group members responsible for this act of vandalism were supporters of Alberto Fujimori’s government not only because of the proximity of Fujimori’s arrival and the attack, but because orange is the color of Fujimori’s campaign. [10]
Lika Mutal's Response to Controversy edit
In an interview done by El Comercio, Lika Mutal was asked if she would include the names of the 41 victims murdered in the Castro Castro prison raid in her monument. She responded by saying that, “I couldn’t. They were criminals, killed outside the rule of law, but criminals nonetheless. If reparations have to be granted to their families, the reparations should be directed to remedy the damage they caused".[11] When it was discovered that the names of terrorists had been included in The Eye that Cries monument, Lika Mutal responded in an interview with La Republica by saying that she had no knowledge that the names of terrorists were included in the stones. She said that the list given to her by the CVR was marked as the registry that included all of the victims.[12]
Artist's Inspiration and Description of Monument edit
After visiting the Yuyanapaq exhibit, that narrates the more than twenty years of armed conflict in Peru through photographs, Lika Mutal felt inspired. Working primarily with stone, Lika returned to her studio, where she viewed her artistic medium with a new perspective. She says that upon seeing the stone, the phrase “The Eye that Cries” formed in her head. After this moment, she decided to work on this project, and through private sponsors and donations was able to accumulate the necessary funds for The Eye that Cries.[13]
The Eye that Cries is located in the middle of a labyrinth. The labyrinth itself is composed of tens of thousands of rocks. Each individual rock is inscribed with a name, age, and year of death of a victim of Peru’s decades of internal conflict. The sculpture is representative of Pachamama, which in Quechua means Mother Earth. In the center of the sculpture, a small stone that takes the form of an eye continuously trickles water. [14]
References edit
- ^ Lerner, S. et al Final Report for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Peru) (2003)
- ^ Hite, Katherine "'The Eye That Cries': the Politics of Representing Victims in Contemporary Peru", in A Contracorriente,Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 115-116, http://www.ncsu.edu/project/acontracorriente(2007)
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/11/world/americas/11peru.html NY Times Article of Castro Castro Prison Raid
- ^ Hite K. ( 2007) The eye that cries: The politics of representing victims in contemporary Peru. Contracorriente 5(1): 110.
- ^ Drinot P. (2009) For whom the eye cries: Memory, monumentality, and the ontologies of violence in Peru. Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies 18(1): 53-59
- ^ Hite K. ( 2007) The eye that cries: The politics of representing victims in contemporary Peru. Contracorriente 5(1): 112.
- ^ www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_162_esp.pdf Inter-American Court Ruling November 2006
- ^ Hite K. ( 2007) The eye that cries: The politics of representing victims in contemporary Peru. Contracorriente 5(1): 111-115.
- ^ Hite K. ( 2007) The eye that cries: The politics of representing victims in contemporary Peru. Contracorriente 5(1): 131.
- ^ Hite K. ( 2007) The eye that cries: The politics of representing victims in contemporary Peru. Contracorriente 5(1): 132-133.
- ^ Peru 21, 9 January 2007
- ^ La Republica, 18 January 2007
- ^ http://agenciaperu.com/cultural/portada/cvr3/mutal.html Lika Mutal Interview
- ^ http://www.interpares.ca/en/photo_essay/9/page3.php Publications and Photo Essays: The Eye that Cries
See also edit
External links edit
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