Scryer In The Archive (2022)

In Scryer in the Archive (2022-2025), Aimée Zito Lema reflects on her family’s experiences during the military dictatorship in Argentina. She draws from images out of the magazine Nuevo Hombre (1971 1976), where her father was an editor. The magazine’s closure marked the beginning of a life in exile for her family. Zito Lema places enlarged archival photographs from the magazine in a water basin, where the paper slowly dissolves, and traces the outlines of figures from family photos in blue lines. A floating sculptural object, shaped with her own body, balances between past and present. Through this work, Zito Lema explores themes of impermanence, social memory and how family histories echo across generations.

Special thanks to the artist and tegenboschvanvreden, Amsterdam. This work is made possible by Kunstenlab Deventer.