Portraiture as Denunciation and Resistance in the Work of Eleonora Ghioldi

Abstract

 This article examines the portraits created by Argentine feminist photographer and filmmaker Eleonora Ghioldi (b. 1972, Buenos Aires) as acts of denunciation and resistance against gender violence, while also addressing issues of intersectionality and collaboration in her three major projects: Guerreras, Atravesadxs, and Aborto Legal Ya!. Guerreras began in 2011 through conversations between Ghioldi and her friends about experiences of violence and, over the years, expanded to include testimonies from cis and trans women of diverse ages and racial backgrounds. Atravesadxs emerged from the artist’s engagement with Gustavo Melmann, the father of Natalia Melmann, a victim of femicide in 2001, and now comprises over 70 testimonies from relatives and friends of murdered women. Meanwhile, Aborto Legal Ya! documents the struggle for the legalization and preservation of abortion rights in Argentina, approaching the issue from multiple perspectives, including public health and intergenerational concerns. These works consist of large-scale photographic portraits accompanied by testimonies, displayed in public and institutional spaces, alongside a short film. The analysis draws on Emma Lewis’s (2021) research on feminist and activist approaches to portraiture, Dominique Baqué’s (2009) research on representations of violence in photography and politically engaged art, as well as Rita Segato’s (2020) studies on the structures of gender violence. The theoretical framework is further informed by Verónica Gago’s (2020) writings on feminist organizing in Latin America, Judith Butler’s (2016) work on vulnerability, resistance, and solidarity networks, and critical contributions from the anthology Transfeminismo o barbarie (2022).