The calabozo: virtual reconstruction of a prison cell based on personal accounts

by Aroztegui Massera, Carmen

The objective of my research is to create a visualization of a place based on personal

experiences. My research addresses this issue through a case study: the visualization of a

womenÂ?s political prison located in Punta de Rieles, Uruguay, during the Uruguayan dictatorship

(1973-85). In June of 2002, I went to Uruguay and interviewed nine female former political

prisoners. I asked them to tell me stories about what happened to them during their time in

prison. My research aims at relating their experience of prison through a visualization of their

stories. The challenge addressed by my research is the creation of a virtual reconstruction that

can communicate the experience of prison through the integration of narrative, light modeling

and sound. The proposed visualization is a video installation based on these womenÂ?s personal

experiences of the solitary confinement cell (calabozo).