Color Piedra Caliza
Color Piedra Caliza explores the constant changes between mankind, nature and the unfinished blend between the two. Set in Colombia in the middle of the prosperous valleys of the northern Andes mountains, this series navigates a territory of absence and ruins, where the unthoughtful development of the Caliza (limestone) industry left a vast trauma in the small towns around the region.
At the beginning of 1940, the exploitation of limestone resources came to Colombia with the creation of the first cement factory, Cementos Samper. The new boom of limestone mining brought with it a prosperous demand for jobs and opportunities for the inhabitants of the mountainous region surrounding Bogotá, the capital of the country.
Decades later, the deterioration of the surrounding nature was notorious; the contamination of the water, an increase in respiratory diseases and the inadequate use of resources in the area forced the closure of the mine and factory, causing a collapse not only financially, but also psychologically in the inhabitants of the area.
Mateo Ruiz González was b. 1989 in Bogota, Colombia. He is a photographer and storyteller based in Brooklyn, NY.
Mateo is also Co-founder and photo editor at Antics Publications + Co-curator of The Journal of Grievances.
