Abject objects: Disputed Narratives in the Historical Museum of the National Police of Colombia

Abstract

The present article analyzes a museological assemblage. We define this as the maze that is constituted by planning projects, objects, narratives, affects, social actors, and performances that promote an emotional bond between an exhibition and its visitors. The specific object of our analysis is the “Museo Histórico de la Policía Nacional de Colombia” (MHPN). This institution preserves an assembly constituted by a set of pieces and evolutionary and contemporary narratives that justify both the mission of the Colombian National Police and its legitimate use of violence. In the narratives presented by the assemblage, policemen are represented as heroes and victims. We argue that the museum displays an institutional wound. However, the MHPN also displays objects that belonged to famous criminals. We have named them abject objects. These were collected during Colombia’s armed conflicts and during the war on drugs. In the narratives of the Museum guides, the objects serve to demonstrate triumph over the “forces of evil”. Nevertheless, in spite of the effort of the guides to create a very positive image of the Police, these efforts fail attracting a great deal of visitors’ attention, creating a sort of positive image of “the bad guys”. These objects activate a bond between the visitor and the “criminals”. In fact, during the last round of social protest in Colombia, police objects (objects understood as “good” by the Museum) often became signified as abject objects, materializing State violence and, specifically, police violence. We propose that studying state Museums allows us to better understand the relations between materiality, armed conflict, and emotions. In other words, we argue that the analysis of museological assemblages provides a fertile theorical and methodological strategy for the understanding of the image of the world according to state institutions.

Keywords:
Police; Materiality; Museological Assemblages; Conflict; Colombia.