Print Assistant Cordelia Blanchard pulling an aquatint proof with Master Printer Tracy Mayrello (out of frame).
Aragón is a native of Ciudad Juárez, a primary battleground in the violent war between rival cartels and law enforcement agencies for control of the drug trade into the United States. Thousands of people die in drug-related violence every year in México. Content for Aragón’s images comes from photographs published by the media, in print and digital format, depicting crude and raw forensic evidence. Aragón’s work is derived from a need to find meaning in these brutal events that reposition the corpse in one’s field of vision, reminding us that our physical existence is finite. By using metaphors and visual metonymies to tie together process and subject matter he explores the idea of perception, memory, and transformation.