Documentary

Aimée Zito Lema

in Dimension of Absence

character

Aime Zito Lema

director

Sjors Swierstra

country

Argentina,

The Netherlands

duration

15 min

year

2023

Although she didn’t personally experience the last Argentinian military junta (1976-1983), Argentinian-Dutch visual artist Aimée Zito Lema grew up in the shadow of the violent history that affected her country and family. At a young age, she grew fascinated with archival photographs of people who dared to risk their lives by resisting Jorge Videla’s military regime.

On a visit to Buenos Aires, she includes her daughter in a performative art piece in which they embody the past and imagine a new future, showing the way art can function as a medium for memory work across countries and generations.

About Aimée Zito Lema

How does our perception of history shape us? What is remembered, what is forgotten and what is passed on? In her work, visual artist Aimée Zito Lema (1982) investigates the mechanisms of social memory. Through extensive research and the use of archival footage, she asks questions about the relationship between the past and the present. Her art often deals with violence and conflict. She observes, questions, and adds poetic layers to historical facts.