Santiago Vélez

There are international estimates of around 190 million immigrants world wide. There are no reliable statistics about the number of immigrants that arrive in their new homes by way of human trafficking, but nevertheless human trafficking generates billions of dollars every year. It is a business that involves directly and indirectly all segments of society, and for that reason it is difficult to find concrete information about it.

Water is a fundamental element in the work of Santiago Vélez. It is essential for life and it functions as both a limit and a vehicle. In the ecologicial sense the artist questions the relationship between human beings and this element. In the Northeast part of Colombia, in the area of the Atrato River and the Gulf of Urabá, water is the backbone of business and life, and it is said that the business of human trafficking exists there, but no one will talk about it. No one wants to get wet.