El Empaquetador

Informal labor, consumption, and the circulation of waste

In El Empaquetador, the artist joins the work of a supermarket bagger for approximately two hours. A sticker is attached to every plastic bag handed out, making visible and countable an action that normally disappears inside everyday consumption.

The action connected informal work paid through tips, accelerated consumption, and the multiplication of packaging. More than 400 stickers and over CLP $6,000 in tips recorded the economic and material intensity of that short shift.

El Empaquetador during the 2010 action
Entering the site of the action.
El Empaquetador attaching stickers
Labeling during bagging.
El Empaquetador and plastic bags
Circulation of plastic bags.
Intervened clothing in El Empaquetador
Stickers accumulating on the uniform.
Final record of El Empaquetador
Record at the end of the action.

TECHNICAL SHEET

Code: EMPA_CAPI_0001
Year: 2010
Type: Art action and photographic record
Duration: Approximately 2 hours
Action indicators: More than 400 stickers and over CLP $6,000 in tips
Status: Main object not preserved; digital record available.

CONCEPTUAL READING

The sticker turns every delivery into a visible unit. The bagger's body is also gradually covered, as if the flow of goods left a material accounting on the person performing the service. The record allows the work to be reactivated in derived virtual or installation formats.

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