Emboscada - Habeas Paraíso uses the testimonials of surviving victims and declassified material from the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States. This material was only declassified in 2014 which is the same year that Brazil approved the Commission of Truth. This is an active conversation in a deeply divided country. Exhibiting Habeas Paraíso in Curitiba —the de facto capital of the Brazilian dictatorship— allows me to bring my research to another of the actual significant locations of the Condor Operation (a CIA non-declared war of state terror and political repression) and the worldwide dynamics of the Cold War.

With Emboscada - Habeas Paraíso, the viewers are confronted in a poetic and symbolic manner with the many sides of our common history allowing for greater understanding of this still difficult conversation about memory and responsibility. Ultimately, I consider that presenting a piece that explores the dynamics of the Cold War is important to collective memory but also adds to the debates about history, responsibility and decolonization.

   
This artwork was generously supported by an Ontario Art Council Exhibition Assistance grant.