ERNESTO SUMARKHO
These Dreams Are Not Only Mine
Eternal Faces
Encapuchados
Biophilia
Info
Encapuchados [2024]
Protests and political demonstrations in Venezuela have been ongoing for over 20 years despite severe repression, political imprisonment, assasinations and torturing. Growing up I took part in these protests along with family, friends and millions of other Venezuelans marching against political corruption, social injustice, economic instability and violence.
This series of masks crafted with packets of maize flour, electoral ballot tape and discontinued currency transform everyday items into artifacts of protest. Harina Pan, a staple of Venezuelan identity, becomes a symbol of both nourishment and scarcity. Electoral ballot tape, once a tool of democracy, now represents contested elections and political disillusionment. Discontinued currency, rendered worthless by hyperinflation, forms fragile veils—reminders of a collapsing economy and lost stability.
Each portrait captures a silent confrontation, where the mask both conceals and reveals.