"Gervasio knows that we need the silenced voices if we aspire to write a complete history. And for that, it is necessary to reclaim, in the face of the hatred that undermines, the courage that observes." Irene Vallejo [prologue]

As a preview of the exhibition Lives mined. 25 years de Gervasio Sanchez, el Círculo de Bellas Artes (opening in January 2024) and the publication of the catalogue of the same name by FlowerThe photographer will talk with Carol Rojo, director of f/DKV Photography Center with a CauseLeopoldo Blume, editor; Viggo Mortensen, actor and film director; and with three of those lives undermined: Sofia Elface Fumo, Manuel Orellana and Medy Ewaz Ali.

There are numerous debates about whether photojournalists should get involved with victims in conflict zones. Gervasio Sánchez breaks with that debate. For 25 years, Gervasio has maintained his relationship with those he photographed on different continents after landmines left them with lifelong injuries and stumps. As he himself states: “The victims featured in this documentary project symbolize the tragedy that affects hundreds of thousands of victims of antipersonnel mine explosions worldwide. They all have a story to tell of struggle for survival and dignity, and our obligation, since we are unable to end conflicts, is to respect their experiences. I have tried to approach them with great respect and have avoided influencing or altering their ways of acting or behaving. I have never wanted to become a thief of other people's suffering.”

This work not only highlights its true protagonists and their lives of resistance and resilience (Sofia, Manuel or Medy, among many others), but also seeks to shake up the consciences of the viewers, but above all, of the businessmen who profit from the suffering of others by selling mines, or of the politicians who, despite working in democracies that have signed agreements against the commercialization of these mines, look the other way.