Paz Errázuriz's UK debut at MK Gallery showcases decades of defiant Chilean photography

MK Gallery presents 'Paz Errázuriz: Dare to Look,' the first comprehensive UK solo exhibition of the Chilean photographer's work, featuring over 170 images documenting marginalized communities during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. Errázuriz began photographing in 1973 after the military coup that overthrew Salvador Allende, teaching herself to use a camera as an act of political resistance. The exhibition includes her landmark series 'La Manzana de Adán' (Adam's Apple), started in 1981, which intimately portrays transgender individuals and sex workers facing brutal persecution under Pinochet's regime, where Article 365 criminalized gay sexual activity until 1999. Another series, 'Antesala de un Desnudo' (Antechamber of a Nude), documents psychiatric patients in stark institutional conditions. Errázuriz co-founded the Association of Independent Photographers in 1981, providing legal support and facilitating international connections, including with Magnum photographer Susan Meiselas, who published the book 'Chile from Within.' Her accolades include a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1986, the Ansel Adams Award in 1995, and representing Chile at the Venice Biennale in 2015. The exhibition runs until 5 October at MK Gallery in Milton Keynes, offering a rare view of Chilean society during turmoil, with director Anthony Spira noting the work's ongoing resonance with pressing social issues.