“Memory Portraits”: the faces accompanying the families of the disappeared in Peru

The “Memory Portraits” project is presented to members of the community of Oronccoy, alongside the ICRC and the General Directorate for the Search for Disappeared Persons. June 2022. Photo: Alejandro Olazo

Lucia Rocha holds a portrait of her relative, Serapio Orihuela Rocha, during the handover of 31 bodies and 24 portraits of disappeared people in the district of Oronccoy, Ayacucho. July 2023. Photo: John Reyes/La República

The relatives of Delfina, Lourdes and Delia Mendoza Baldeón look at portraits of their missing loved ones before giving them a dignified burial in the district of Accomarca, Ayacucho. May 2022. Photo: Jesús Moya Choy/ICRC

ICRC Protection Officer Ángel Porras speaks to a woman who lost seven close family members in 1984. The photo was taken in Oronccoy following the burial of their remains and delivery of their portraits. In an interview in Quechua, she expressed her gratitude for the portraits and talked about how it felt to have the faces of her loved ones back at home with her. July 2023. Photo: Max Cabello Orcasita

Bereaved relatives of the Baldeón Ramírez family go to the chapel in Accomarca to mourn their missing relatives, whose ossuaries are being carried by staff from Ayacucho’s Specialized Forensic Team. May 2022. Photo: Sebastián Castañeda Vita/ICRC

“Memory Portraits” team (from left to right): Illari Orccottoma Mendoza (producer), Alejandro Olazo (photographer) and Jesús Cossio (artist). Photo: Memory Portraits archive