Quiulacocha

Quiulacocha

Quiulacocha was a lake in the city of Cerro de Pasco in the Central Andes, better known as «the capital of Peruvian mining». After several working visits as a photo-reporter, Marco Garro is interested in the people who live in the city of Cerro de Pasco confronted with an abyssal hole, literally and figuratively, related to the mining context.

Quiulacocha is a visual project that uses photographic alchemy as a metaphor for the impact of mining on the health of the people of Cerro de Pasco. Peruvian photographer Marco Garro collected samples of mine tailings dumped in what was once Lake Quiulacocha to use them in the development of photographs. The toxic liquid leaves marks and textures on photographs, which closely approximate how contamination affects life and the local environment. I wanted to “reveal the corrosive effects of mining on health and the environment that we often prefer not to see,” says the author.

The images we are exhibiting for the first time are part of the book Quiulacocha, published by KWY Ediciones in 2023 and presented at the Rencontres d'Arles in 2024. With a special thanks to Carmencita Film Lab in Spain.