Bienal de Pontevedra

In dialogue with the theme of the Pontevedra Biennial and with Susan Sontag's reflection on how spectators remain in a passive position regarding the pain of others, as they see it as a spectacle, Gervasio Sánchez presents four works taken from one of his most iconic series: El cerco de Sarajevo: Tumba de una familia en el cementerio del León. Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) [The siege of Sarajevo: Tomb of a family in the Cemetery of León. Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina)], July 1993; Mujer sale con maleta de su casa destruida. Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) [Woman leaving her destroyed house with a suitcase. Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina)], June 1992; Biblioteca de Sarajevo con haz de luz. Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) [Sarajevo Library with a beam of light. Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina)], July 1993; and Cuatro niñas en el interior de un coche destruido. Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) [Four girls inside a destroyed car. Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina)], February 1994. Sarajevo was a key experience for the photographer, as there he understood that war cannot be fully explained, that horror does not fit into an image. The photographs reveal the author's idea of war, since he focuses his most tragic feelings on the consequences, on a peculiar ‘landscape after the battle’. There, he often meets again with several protagonists of his photographs, as happens here with Edo, the boy who guided him through some of the destroyed areas of the city. These images remind us that the war is not over for those who experienced it, even if the Bosnian conflict officially ended with the Dayton Agreement on 14 December 1995, since it is still active in their subconscious, and the photographs remind us of their pain. Because wars, according to Sánchez, are not over until their consequences are overcome, and this sometimes takes decades, and even children and adolescents may end up scarred for life.