Genesis, one life three generations. Following the photographic footprint of a family reconstruction

Abstract

This article analyzes the construction of the hypermedia project Genesis, focused on the recovery of the family history of a mother (Victoria Sanchez), who decided to leave home without a trace at a young age due to the intersection of family violence and the regional context in which she grew up (Medellin, Colombia). The project arises from a Twitter message that reaches me, the author of the project, in 2013, sent by an unknown cousin looking for the whereabouts of Victoria Sanchez, after three decades. With the photos sent by the unknown cousin, several of my relatives get a face, among them my grandmother's face. From these images a plausible project is constructed where photographic memories from the documentation and the archive are intermingled with falsified photographic memories, created for the project in collaboration with my two sisters. We narrate a new family and autobiographical story, at the same time a sort of appropriation and healing process, in the face of family trauma.