Ablución [Ablution]

Regina José Galindo frequently uses her body as a medium, even putting it at significant risk, to tackle difficult social issues like political oppression, or violence against women. In this video, Galindo stages and films a former gang member diligently washing blood off his body and in the process revealing the numerous tattoos that speak of his gang life. Galindo has chosen to associate the washing with ablución (ablution), a sacred cleansing ritual to imply that we are watching a process of purification. The blood that covers the gang member’s body may be understood as a metaphor of violence that he labors to wash away. Despite the care taken to remove all the blood, his tattoos remain witness of his former life, suggesting that traces of violence are not easily removed.