Untitled. Liliana Maresca at Marconetti Building

The sculptures and actions of Liliana Maresca, who died in 1994 of AIDS, were done in the wake of the Argentinian dictatorship and ensuing state violence, which ended in 1983: a period of state terrorism, bloody strife and numerous unresolved disappearances.

Maresca’s untitled series of photographs from 1984 comprise a laconic photo performance, documented by Marcos Lopez. The abandoned Marconetti building, near Buenos Aires’ Parque Lezama, in whose empty interior the performance took place against a background of peeling wallpaper, was being occupied at the time by artists such as Maresca’s collaborator Daniel Riga. In one photograph, a hand reaches into the frame holding a small egg, the white light reflecting on the outstretched palm as well as the open door behind it. In another, we see a number of open doors in a room. Representing a transition between exterior and interior, this image has political valence: a political way forward by means of personal actions.