Titled The Slaughterhouse (Spanish: El Matadero), Paula Luttringer's first photographic project was created in 1995 in an Argentine abattoir and first exhibited in Buenos Aires in 1998. Although initially conceived as a documentary study of the beef industry, the work quickly evolved into a deeply metaphorical exploration of trauma, shaped by the artist's personal history as a survivor of the clandestine detention centers operated during Argentina's last military dictatorship (1976–1983).
The historical relevance of the project is deeply embedded in the Argentine cultural imaginary, where the image of the "matadero" (slaughterhouse) has long symbolized state violence, most notably since Esteban Echeverría's 1839 literary allegory critiquing the brutal repression under Juan Manuel de Rosas’ regime. In Luttringer's hands, this enduring trope becomes a visual language for articulating what remains unspeakable: the bureaucratic, systematic disappearance and destruction of human bodies under authoritarian rule.
Through a sequence of black and white images, Luttringer constructs a somber visual narrative that juxtaposes the vulnerability of animals with the faceless efficiency of their executioners. The photographs, taken with ambient light and often capturing blurred motion or partial focus, emphasize disorientation and the liminality of spaces that are neither entirely public nor wholly concealed. Structured through a sequence of fragmented glimpses, the work captures the ritualized before and after stages of slaughter, revealing a systematized choreography of annihilation and sovereign control.
First exhibited at the Fotogalería del Teatro San Martín, Buenos Aires (1998), The Slaughterhouse gained early international visibility at PHotoEspaña—Best Portfolio (1999)—and FotoFest Houston (Discoveries 1999; Biennial 2000, 2002). A 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship further consolidated Luttringer’s standing. Subsequent presentations and acquisitions by MNBA and MAMBA (Buenos Aires), the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the George Eastman Museum, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France have secured the work’s place in contemporary photographic discourse.
