Though currently based in New York City, photographer Antonio Pulgarin is originally from Bogotá, Colombia’s Calle 4 Sur neighborhood. When he was three years old, he and his mother relocated to America. As an adult, Pulgarin returned to Colombia to reconnect with his roots. Pulgarin also became interested in learning about Colombia’s political situation and how it affects the community living in Calle 4 Sur and beyond. With his home base at his grandmother’s house in Calle 4 Sur, Pulgarin explored other cities in Colombia—Ibagué, Santiago de Cali, Bogotá and Medellín. His long-term project, “Calle 4 Sur” combines both black-and-white and color photography to help explain both the conflict and drama, and the sense of hope for his country.

“Through the eyes of my family I learned of the political issues occurring in Colombia and of the individuals looking to resolve them. This led me to photograph students, civilians, religious leaders, and radical protesters in an attempt to understand their approach to ending the political conflict in Colombia,” Pulgarin says, in his artist’s statement about the work.