Doris Salcedo covers Bogotá square with stitched banners in memory of victims of civil war

Following Colombia’s shock vote to reject a landmark peace deal with Farc rebels, the Colombian artist Doris Salcedo covered the main square in the capital of Bogotá with 7,000 metres of white fabric yesterday (11 October).

Doris Salcedo's Sumando Ausencias (Image:White Cube/Instagram)

The shroud-like installation, which volunteers stitched together from individual banners, bears the names of just 7% of the victims of the conflict, written in ash. An estimated 260,000 people have been killed over the past 60 years. “The names are poorly written, almost erased, because we are already forgetting these violent deaths,” Salcedo says.

Sumando Ausencias, loosely translated as “adding absence”, was created in collaboration with the Museo de la Universidad Nacional Bogotá. The site-specific work will remain on show in the Plaza Bolivar for a short period of time only.

After nearly four years of negotiations, Colombia’s decision on 2 October to reject the peace agreement by 50.2% to 49.8% has thrown the country into confusion. Many provinces that have been hardest hit by violence overwhelmingly backed the deal. Bogotá voted “yes” with 56%.