External Memories is a relational art and research project based on the reconstruction of migrants' digital memories. Its aim is to facilitate the preservation of migrants' digital memories, which are often forgotten, lost, or deleted due to the lack of a place to store this information. Inaccessibility to traditional storage media or computers hinders the preservation of these memories, leading to their loss.

My work in recent years has involved collecting and restoring hard drives and external drives from old computers, flea markets, and secondhand stores, restoring them, and turning them into a kind of useful external storage. I help migrants use these devices in exchange for photos that are added to a migrant external storage file.

As the child of immigrants, I came to Spain with my parents. My studies have given me computer skills, and I've taken on the role of the person responsible for storing the photographs and digital documents of all my family members. My interactions with other migrant families have made me aware of this lack and this loss of migration experiences.

External Memories seeks to reconstruct distorted, hypermediated, and dehumanized migration histories. It draws on documents collected and created by the migrants themselves, aiming to provide firsthand accounts that generate a new representation of migration narratives. Through the photographs and documents provided, the project proposes to create a graphic archive of works produced using techniques such as printing and engraving on old book pages. In this way, we engage in the rewriting of history and give voice to marginalized individuals within this discourse, prioritizing their perspectives and ensuring that their testimonies are delivered directly by them.

External Memories, 2024

Print on white polyester backlit in a light box (LED, 44W). Memory file recovered from acquired and found mobile devices.

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This work has been exhibited in various venues, both individually and collectively. It was part of the exhibition * La Sagrada Familia is still Under Construction *, curated by Kaushal Sapre, Nikki Nita Ramírez, and Phokeng Setai, and organized by the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation at the Ateneo de Madrid. It was also presented at the Freijó Gallery as part of the exhibition *Appropriations and Memories *, curated by Ramón Mateos, alongside the work of Joan Fontcuberta. Additionally, it was exhibited individually at La Parcería, curated by Fabio Manosalva .