Fruit of a six-year collaboration between photographer Stephen Ferry and his sister, the anthropologist Elizabeth Emma Ferry, La Batea looks closely at small-scale gold mining in Colombia. The title refers to the wooden pan used in traditional mining since Pre-Columbian times.

La Batea documents the struggles of gold mining communities in Colombia to defend their way of life against armed criminal organizations and multinational corporations seeking their gold. Colombia reflects the situation of local communities worldwide who face violent repression for opposing large-scale mining projects in their territories. While exploring the complex social terrain around gold mining, La Batea engages with the charismatic nature of both gold and mercury.

Red Hook Editions
ISBN: 978-1-941703-04-5
Publication: 2017
196 pages
Format: 5.5 x 9.5″
Paper: Holmen Book Cream.
Cover: Hardcover, lay-flat, section-sewn
Gold inlay on cover

• Aperture
• New York Times Lens Blog
• Photographic Museum of Humanity
• BBC
• Doble Espacio
• Consejo de Redacción

Buy La Batea, English edition at Jet Age Books
Buy La Batea, Spanish edition at Icono Editorial