Capitolio

Capitolio, de Christopher Anderson

Capitolio is a cinematic journey through the shadows of Caracas, Venezuela during “revolution”. In the tradition of William Kelin’s New York and Robert Frank’s The Americans, Magnum photographer Christopher Anderson creates an emotional portrait of a time and a place that is ripping apart at the seams. Rather than a didactic or journalistic approach, Anderson presents a poetic vision of a place where the violent and sensual coexist.

The word Capitolio refers to the domed building that houses a government. In this book, Caracas itself becomes a metaphorical Capitolio. In place of walls, we have decaying modernist architecture built with petro dollars.

They seem to suggest a time of opulence, but through the cracks grows a the jungle that betrays a rotting from within. The streets serve as stand-ins for the halls of this building where the human drama and political intrigue are played out.