La Batea

The result of a six-year collaboration between photographer Stephen Ferry and his sister, anthropologist Elizabeth Emma Ferry, La Batea takes a close look at small-scale gold mining in Colombia. The book is conceived as an anthropological account of all kinds of experiences and situations that have occurred in the mines of Marmato, Segovia and other places in Colombia where gold is still extracted. The design proposed by Icono Editorial is very particular, with its cardboard covers, screen-printed cover and the touch of the fusion of a gold nugget that resembles the traditional activity of searching for gold in the rivers with the traditional pre-Columbian instrument that gives the book its title, the Batea.

The images appear with a grainy tone that is reinforced by the use of a rough paper, which reinforces the documentary aspect of the work. Although this is a work that appeals to the senses, where the documentary gradually merges with the search for a tactile, colorful object in which abstract images can sometimes emerge that speak of the heat of the melting metal, la Batea documents the struggles of gold mining communities in Colombia to defend their way of life against armed criminal organizations and multinational corporations seeking their gold.

Colombia reflects the plight of local communities around the world who face violent repression for opposing large-scale mining projects in their territories. While exploring the complex social terrain surrounding gold mining, La Batea engages with the charismatic nature of both gold and mercury.