Teresa Margolles' 'Periferia dell'agonia' at Mattatoio, Rome

Teresa Margolles' exhibition 'Periferia dell'agonia' at Mattatoio in Rome confronts the viewer with violence and indifference. The show, part of the curatorial project 'Dispositivi Sensibili,' includes installations both inside and outside the venue, with actions and documentation on the urban scene. In Padiglione 9 B, a dramatic scarlet atmosphere makes the environmental installation immersive, alluding to 'a pierced, wounded, stabbed body that can be traversed.' Margolles, born in Culiacán in 1963 and trained as a forensic pathologist, draws from her work in Mexican morgues, presenting material traces of border crimes as relics of a world that has distanced death. The exhibition references Susan Sontag's 'Regarding the Pain of Others' and the idea that 'remembering is an ethical act.' Margolles shields the viewer from macabre details, instead evoking horror through its power. The show also resonates with current events in Ukraine, urging the audience not to be mere spectators but to bear witness.