Traditional medicine in the Afro Colombian region of El Chocó: A series of photographs by Jeisson Riascos

Jeisson Riascos’s work focuses on documenting the life of his own community: the Afro-Colombian region of El Chocó, along the Pacific coast of the country. He is fully engaged in this community: he teaches photography to young people and was an advocate for the COVID vaccines. His camera is a tool to denounce health-related and other disparities in his community, and to show it to the world. His work has been featured in the New York Times and other outlets, especially during the pandemic.

This photography exhibit is focused specifically on his recent work about traditional medicine in the region of El Chocó. During the opening reception, members of the Princeton Community will be able to see these photographs while engaging with the artist. Some questions to be addressed would be the importance of using art and photography to give visibility to an underrepresented community and to use it as a tool to condemn the treatment given to the region by the authorities, the motivations for the artist to start a new project or the complex identities of the people of El Chocó.