*

extract from  
"The War of Images" by David Balsells
published in the catalogue for the exhibition "The Mexican Suitcase" © ICP 2010

[…] The discovery of the Mexican Suitcase, containing the negatives of Capa, Taro, and Chim, has been wonderful news, not only because of the importance of their content, which will make new historical readings possible, but also because they represent a hope for the future. The Mexican Suitcase is a symbol of the struggle for justice and of the values for which these photographers fought. It represents a look back at a past on which the book is still not definitively closed, seventy years later: we cannot and must not forget that in Spain, the count of common graves that have yet to be excavated is 284.

If the photography of the Spanish Civil War has become part of history, it is thanks to all of the photographers who participated in it – and who, in addition to providing photographic documents, created a new photojournalism with images in which ethics and aesthetics indelibly merged.

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The Mexican Suitcase 

MNAC, Barcelona
Exhibition
6 Oct 2011 – 15 Jan 2012
http://www.mnac.cat/exposicions/exp_futures.jsp?lan=003

International Center of Photography
Online space
http://museum.icp.org/mexican_suitcase/

The Mexican Suitcase by Trisha Ziff
http://www.themexicansuitcase.com/