Palonegro is the most recent project by Colombian artist Luis Carlos Tovar, and the result of several years of research between Colombia and Switzerland. It explores a precise chapter in the history of violence in Colombia: its ninth civil war, the Thousand Days’ War (1899-1902), of which the bloody Battle of Palonegro (11-25 May 1900) was part. For Palonegro, the artist researched and unearthed lesser known archives from a wide range of Swiss and Colombian private and public sources, including those of the Red Cross, the Bibliothèque de Genève and decommissioned military files from the Colombian Ministry of War. Through his work, he aims to revise and resignify these photographic archives, which he considers bodies to be healed. With this approach, he hopes to envisage by extension the possibility of healing individual and collective memory from the traumas and wounds of Colombian history.

The exhibition is part of the Swiss Photomonth programme, which runs from 30 August to 6 October 2024.