Chilean artistic photography produced local references in books and essays such as El espacio de acá. Señales para una mirada americana (1980) by Ronald Kay; “Ensayo de coyuntura de la escena plástica” (1983) by Justo Pastor Mellado; Margins and Institutions (1986) by Nelly Richard; “A propósito de la fotografía en Chile” (1987) by Mario Fonseca; and (Yo) la histérica (fotografía) (1997) by Rita Ferrer. These texts demonstrated a reflection and critique on Chilean artistic photography throughout the mid-seventies up until the exhibition. Critical attention is centered on pictorial representation due to the incorporation of photography, the distancing of photography from conventional interpretation in terms of being a record or a chronicle, and to its technological mediation.
In the mid-seventies photography began to be used in experimental practices of Chilean art, specifically, in its status as a recorded work of art, and in terms of the proof of its existence as support medium and an artistic expansion. This can be seen in the works by such artists as Carlos Altamirano, Eugenio Dittborn, Gonzalo Díaz, and the C.A.D.A. (Colectivo Acciones de Arte), among others. Thereby, the 1998 exhibition displayed a generational transition and the changes in usage undergone by photography, which established a frontier between photographer–artists and those artists who used photography for their creations.
The curator of the exhibition was Enrique Zamudio who exercised multiple roles as academician and artist. He oversaw the teaching of photography and was part of the Art Faculty of the University of Chile. Due to his own photographic expertise, he selected emerging artists that allowed laying out a new backdrop on this medium.