In the stifling confines of the Poli-Valencia detention centre in Venezuela, time loses all meaning. For the women held there, days stretch into what photographer Ana María Arévalo Gosen describes as "eternal days"—a purgatory of waiting, neglect, and a desperate struggle to retain identity.
A Cell of Their Own Making
Arévalo Gosen's powerful photographic series, Días Eternos (Eternal Days), began in a converted investigation office. Authorities had moved female detainees into this space after they were initially held alongside men. When the photographer returned a year later, the sterile room had been transformed.
The women had claimed the walls, covering them with names, heartfelt phrases, and small drawings. A poster of Colombian singer Maluma was taped up, a small token of the outside world. One stark inscription carved into the wall captured a collective sentiment of weary defiance: "I don't expect anyone to believe in me because I don't believe in anyone."
Physical closeness became a sole comfort in the airless space. Arévalo Gosen observed women resting on thin mattresses on the floor, their bodies intertwined, one using another's legs as a pillow.
Life in Judicial Limbo
For these women, the centre was a state of profound limbo. The room lacked basic ventilation and running water. Many had never met their lawyers and had no idea when their trials might be. Regular access to food, water, or medical attention was not guaranteed.
Their existence was defined by what the photographer calls a "kind of deranged inactivity," punctuated only by the fleeting possibility of a visit from the outside world. Their stories, however, refused to be erased by the system that held them.
Daniela and Roxana: Stories of Resilience
Two women's journeys left a particular mark on Arévalo Gosen. Daniela, pictured in a pink T-shirt, had been sentenced long before the photographer met her in 2017. At that time, her family was completely unaware of her whereabouts; she had simply vanished into the detention system. A year later, she shared the devastating news that her daughter had been diagnosed with leukaemia.
The woman in yellow, Roxana, had lived on the streets and battled addiction. When photographed, she was suffering from a liver abscess caused by long-term substance abuse and was HIV positive. Her father was a lifeline, appearing weekly with her medication and food. Roxana was in and out of jail for years, surviving a gunshot wound to the leg in 2020.
That violent incident became her turning point. She stopped using drugs and alcohol, moved back in with her father, and began to rebuild her life. Today, Roxana is enrolled at university and has written a book about her experiences.
Ana María Arévalo Gosen's work focuses intensely on women's rights. Through Días Eternos, she reveals a room never designed for living, irrevocably altered by women who insisted on being seen, who fought against disappearing. Their wait may have felt eternal, but their humanity and resilience ultimately defied the confines meant to contain them.
