"I met Deysi in September. That day I drove in my small rental car for hours, lost in the highlands. I felt deep happiness, then anxiety, fear, optimism, and resignation. I went through all the mental states until it began to get dark, and I was overcome with terror: I had been lost for so long in a maze of paths that it was impossible to even think of going back. Finding Deysi became my only option. Tired and trying not to despair, I retraced my steps once more, towards the last detour I had taken. In the distance, almost imperceptible on a hill, I saw a white dot that looked like a jeep. The white dot grew closer as I approached. We met in a dry riverbed. "Deysi!" We hugged each other for several minutes, on the verge of tears, and I told her, "I'm Fernanda; I've been looking for you for a long time."
– travel journal extract, 2021
– travel journal extract, 2021
This long-term documentary project centers on the life of Deysi, a 39-year-old Aymara woman who lives between the urban environment of Alto Hospicio and the remote Quebrada de Chiclla at 4,500 meters altitude. By following her life raising llamas in solitude, the project argues her existence is a form of resistance against geographic and political forces that constantly transform and isolate the Andean landscape. Moving beyond static documentation, this work unfolds as an intercultural dialogue, drawing us into a shared current of affection and coexistence.
Over more than fifteen field trips, my camera evolved from a device for distant observation into a tool for emotional connexion. Historically, the representation of Andean peoples in Chile has oscillated between stigmatization and exoticized glorification. This project seeks to unsettle that narrative and shift boundaries. By capturing our time "up there" where we listened to cumbia music and shared vulnerabilities, the work blends the limit between observer and subject.
Conceived as a dynamic multimedia ecosystem, the project embodies photography as a practice in constant movement. Through a visual constellation, a short film, and an interactive web platform, the narrative refuses to remain static. Soundscapes, visual fragments, and personal archives circulate, change context, and move between the physical desert and virtual territories, enabling us to actively navigate them and reminding us of our collective impulse to seek connection with another.
