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Mads Nissen’s Take on Colombia’s Civil War

Danish photographer Mads Nissen has documented the civil war in Colombia since 2010. More than 50 years of conflict between the government army, guerrilla rebels and paramilitary groups has led to the internal displacement of 7 million citizens, leaving visible scars on the landscape and people of Colombia. We are Indestructible, published by GOST Books, is the culmination of Nissen’s work, providing a portrait of a war-torn country navigating the complexities of newfound peace.

The photographs in the book journey from the offices of President Juan Manuel Santos to the forest encampments of the FARC guerrilla, from lush mountain ranges to dangerous slums on the outskirts of Colombia’s larger cities where 95% of the population are displaced. Colombia is the main producer of cocaine in the world, fueled by demand from the US and Europe. The economics of this drug trade, intertwined with poverty and inequality, in a county with an ingrained history and culture of violence, has fed the cycle of unrest.

Looking beyond the causation and politics, Nissen’s project presents a compelling picture of the main actors as well as the ordinary citizens whose daily lives are caught in the middle of the violence, cocaine production, guerrilla fighters and gang members.

We are Indestructible
Mads Nissen
GOST Books
Published July 2018

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