Revista de Estudios Colombianos

The cover image accompanying this issue, “El Retorno” (The Return), captures the moment when a woman reclaims her place in nature and merges with it, weaving a bridge between the organic and the symbolic. Executed using the linocut technique, the work confronts us with the memory of territories and the scars of conflict, inviting reflection on the deep bond between women, the land, and resistance. It is not a geographical return, but a return to essence—to the root that sustains life in the midst of adversity.

The artist behind this piece, Paula Ocampo, is a Colombian visual artist, educator, and researcher. She holds a Degree in Visual Arts and a Master’s in Aesthetics and Creation, with complementary training in Systems Engineering. Her artistic practice, distinctly ecofeminist in nature, explores the interrelationships between environmental exploitation and the power dynamics affecting women and surrounding living beings. Her work spans mediums such as photography, painting, printmaking, digital illustration, and experimental techniques like cyanotyping and weaving with medicinal plants. Currently, she balances her artistic practice with advising research-creation projects, fostering spaces for innovation where art, knowledge, and activism converge to imagine and build shared futures.