Hide and Seek

Camouflage typically functions as a means of hiding, but "Camouflage Comics," a website assembled by a group of Argentine artists, instead attempts to uncover what has been hidden. The website explores the history of the Dirty War, the popular term for the military dictatorship that governed Argentina between 1976 and 1983 and killed or "disappeared" tens of thousands of civilians. The site begins with an encylopedia entry that outlines a brief history of the dictatorship, which includes several strings of blacked-out words. Clicking the censored text reveals comics produced during this time of political duress and critical writings about censorship, history, memory and reconstruction. The different styles of the comics--some are loose and spontaneous, others graphic and dense--add a refreshing dose of individuality to an institutional history that has often left out the accounts of those who lived it. There's also an accompanying blog, which encourages responses to the project as well as discussion about any instance, in history or ongoing, where cultural production has been restrained or censored. So, check it out and add your voice to the ranks. - Christine Smallwood