Environmental Pollution

Photo credits: Juan Manuel Echavarría y Fernando Grisalez
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Juan Manuel Echavarría /Jhon Jairo

2008
Vinyl paint on MDF
70 x 100 cm

A black airplane soars above a green landscape filled with trees, small houses, animals, and crops. The blue sky contrasts with the aircraft leaving a white trail behind. In this work, Jhon Jairo recounts his experience of massive glyphosate spraying while serving in the army. He explains that the chemical did not kill the coca plants but affected the livelihoods of rural families. This highly toxic herbicide, widely used to eradicate illegal crops, contaminates water sources and kills animals. The piece questions the State’s duty to protect environmental diversity and integrity and conserve areas of special ecological importance, as enshrined in Article 79 of the Constitution.