The first time we visited Palo Alto, the assembly expressed its concern about the many media and researchers who had visited them for such a long time without ever returning to the cooperative to share their publications. Extractivism is a common practice in journalism and documentary work, often driven by the immediate demands of our professions, by ignorance, and/or by the lack of ethical reflection regarding the responsibility of accessing intimate spaces that were entrusted to us. Ultimately, these are topics we should reflect more on in our daily practices.
The method we devised to ensure that we return the images that we generate to the place from which they were originated was to carry out a “guerrilla”; pasting process using bond paper, glued with flour paste, on the walls and ceilings of those houses belonging to who wanted to participate. We decided to use this technique as a metaphor for the wearing process that this territory undergoes: just as the images will deteriorate with the sun and rain, the community faces situations, problems, and dilemmas that also gradually transform the neighborhood itself.
Each cooperative member decided which photograph they wanted, in what size, and in which part of their house would be posted. In this way, we managed to paste over a hundred pieces in houses and common spaces of Palo Alto.
