Trained in printmaking and painting in his native Bogotá, Santiago Rebolledo moved to Mexico right after his studies, where he developed a politically engaged practice as a member of Grupo Suma (active 1976–1982). The group was a militant artistic collective whose activities included printmaking, urban art, graffiti, stencil and other critical interventions in public space.
This rare publication dates from 1978 and consists of only six handmade copies. It combines collage, montage, stamp art, mimeography, and xerography. A photocopied image of a woman is repeated throughout the publication. The same image also exists as a single loose xeroxed sheet on Toluca’s website, where it is titled La desaparecida. The identity of the woman depicted has not been established. The image appears to relate to the political repression and enforced disappearances carried out during Mexico’s so-called Dirty War.
This particular copy belonged to Lourdes Grobet. A handwritten note in the publication records that other copies were sent to Felipe Ehrenberg, Guadalupe Sobarzo, and Santiago Rebolledo. A typed text on a small paper bag inserted into the publication states that this Mesa de Madera publication was produced in collaboration with Sobarzo Lupe (Guadalupe Sobarzo), another member of Grupo Suma.