Beyond the mask: image-making, resistance and photography in Chiapas

Over the last two decades an established photographic archive has emerged documenting the insurgency uprisings in the southern state of Chiapas, Mexico. This article examines some of the problematics of representation that have been brought to light through the case of the EZLN and the indigenous chiapaneco subject in photography. It questions the notion of authorship and autonomy within the image-making process and acknowledges changes in direction in terms of representation and the re-appropriation of the image. The growing rejection of the camera on behalf of the indigenous subject brings to the forefront the questioning of the role of photographic archaeology and the use of the image as testimony. This article examines the ideological conjectures of image-making in the context of Chiapas whilst observing examples of visual responses to the mass-produced visual outputs made during the height of conflict.