Lost Identities & Found Voices: The International Circulation of the Chilean Arpilleras

• In Event: Visual Communication: Images and Identities

Abstract

How did Chilean women emerge from invisibility and persecution under a repressive military rule to instigate international awareness of human rights violations? A complex combination of social symbolism and daily lived experience visually embedded small fabric quilts known as arpilleras resulted in visual media that crossed international borders to challenge and subvert the junta’s control of traditional communication. By invoking individual anonymity, the women worked collectively in a solidarity movement aimed at an international audience.

Author

• T. Randahl Morris, Georgia State University