MIYÖ’S TORTURE ROOM
Virtual Environment. 2019.
Virtual Environment. 2019.
Totalitarianism is a global enterprise of the enslavement of man. The individual fades before a radical and collective project. The leaders will stop at nothing to achieve their ends. The state's policy of eliminating all possible opponents requires weapons proportionate to the wars it must wage against these external and internal enemies. In this deadly enterprise, torture is one of the ordinary weapons of this power, alongside confinement, the multiplication of forced labor camps, and the extermination or massive displacement of populations.
— Serge Portelli, History of Torture, 2017.
MIYÖ'S TORTURE ROOM: LA TUMBA (The Tomb) is a replica of a torture prison in the heart of Caracas, Venezuela. Originally conceived as an underground metro station, Venezuela's best-known and most feared prison is a five-story cement box located at the headquarters of the intelligence agency. On the top floor of this basement, seven cells measuring 2 by 3 square meters each house, in some cases under false accusations, the leaders of the political opposition. This work is based on real testimonies from those who were there, detailing the conditions of imprisonment, the tortures applied, and the psychological deterioration they underwent. The Venezuelan state's game is to normalize torture and violence so that the population fears the government and lowers its ethical standards.
Conceptually, this work addresses the idea of terror or fear as a form of domination. In this case, state terrorism: increasing the concentration of power in the executive branch, weakening the independence and autonomy of the judiciary, restricting freedom of expression and closing dissident media, excessive—sometimes lethal—use of force and other forms of restrictions on peaceful assembly, widespread use of torture, horrific conditions of detention, and in general, the violation of human rights and the weakening of the concept of democracy in societies.
"...esposado así. Soportando chorros de agua sobre el cuerpo cada hora. La luz blanca, siempre blanca... Luego la corriente eléctrica... Los golpes. Te rodean las muñecas de tirro -papel periódico con cinta adhesiva- para que las esposas no dejen marcas. Lo mismo en la cabeza. Y esto en mi caso. Se cuidaban de no dejar huella. Buscaban métodos alternativos a la violencia a palos, porque no les convenía. A otros presos directamente les rompían las costillas y los dejaban morir. "
"...handcuffed there.. Supporting jets of water on the body every hour. The white light, always white... Then the electric shock... The hits. They surrounded your wrist with tape - newspaper with adhesive tape - so that the wives do not leave a mark. The same in the head. And in my case, they took care not to leave a trace. They looked for alternative methods of violence to sticks, because it did not suit them. Other prisoners directly broke their ribs and left to die."
