El Ojo que Llora, the Ontologies of Violence and the Choice of Memory in Peru
The controversy that arose over Lika Mutal's sculpture, El ojo que llora, prompts me to reflect on the opinions that were expressed at that time. I am particularly interested in considering to what extent the debate reflects the existence of two interpretations of the violence experienced by Peru during the 1980s and 1990s, that is, two ways of thinking about Peru's recent history. I argue that these ideas give rise to different conclusions about the causes of the violence, the responsibilities and culpabilities of the violent and non-violent actors, and about how Peruvian society in a post-violence context should confront the recent violent past.