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Inocente Silencio, by the artist Mónica Súnico, curated by Arturo Duclos, is a certificate exhibition, the result of a study by the artist of a systemic problem in our country: the violation of the human rights of thousands of boys, girls and young people who are in the care of Chilean state protection institutions, and which lasts more than four decades. The exhibition will be available from May 16, on the third floor of the Museum of Memory and Human Rights.
The exhibition is both an act of denial and a testimony of the artist, who describes a long study of institutionalized childhood in Chile, whose rights were violated both from a perspective physical and psychological, and had many issues. mean sexual abuse and even death.
From her own experiences, the artist explores pain, psychological and physical abuse, as well as the burden of silence and the search for compensation, an exercise that few people could do. those little things to get to in order to move forward. “Innocent Silence” expresses the desire for compensation against this true tragedy, based on memory and art.
Using the tools and language of art, the exhibition transforms complex experiences into a conscious journey, which aims to raise awareness and to reflect together in the face of terrible events,” said Maria Fernanda García, director Museum of Memory and Human Rights. “It is a call to look at ourselves as a country and contribute to making a difficult truth that is obvious but something that needs to be known.” and be against it,” he says.
The former National Service for Minors (Sename) was created by Order No. 2,465 on January 10, 1979, in the midst of a military-civilian dictatorship. This government body, which was centralized in nature and cooperated with the legal system, was responsible to the Ministry of Justice and was responsible for protecting the rights of boys, girls and adolescents, as well as young people between 14 and 17 years of age who broke. the law, in addition to the regulation and control of adoption.
After a long period when several suspicions and accusations were raised about the activities of the institution, in 2016 the situation took a new turn after the case of Lisette Villa, a 10-year-old girl who died due to asphyxiation by two officials from the institution administered by Senname. Based on several studies and reports made by the PDI and even the United Nations, a network of corruption and abuse has been revealed.
According to the reports provided by these sources, between 2005 and 2015, 1,836 people have died in Sename; Of these, 1,188 are little boys or girls. In this same period, more than 2,000 cases of abuse against young people were also reported.
These numbers would be just the tip of the iceberg of a bigger problem in terms of perception, because the institution was founded in 1979, so there is still a long period of complete instability.
As an artist and as a woman who has been abused, Mónica Súnico is connected to childhood hostility that was broken and erased, to build from her love, a transparent story that puts her experiences and part of the distance traveled after compensation.
In harmony with the helpless situation of the abused children in Sename, the exhibition Inocente Silencio highlights the violation of the rights of those children given to the State for their protection through a performance, a video installation, and the construction of symbolic and imaginary objects of terror.
Inocente Silencio is an introduction to the work that the Museum of Memory and Human Rights will do throughout 2025, defined as the Year of Youth, which means that the programs will emphasize this theme and his activities for the next year.
“In the coming months, we will be multiplying initiatives aimed at exploring the reality of childhood, seeking intersections and intergenerational conversations, with the aim of increasing the visibility of an issue that is fair from the public eye. Inocente Silencio marks the beginning of this process,” explained its director.
Innocent Silence, by Mónica Súnico
Guardian: Arturo Duclos
Third floor MMDH
From May 16 to August 7, 2024
