El Colgado

The working body as an image of suspension

El Colgado takes card XII from the Tarot of Marseille —a body suspended by one foot—and relocates it to workplaces. The artist appears upside down in the uniforms of different occupations, turning the arcana's ritual pause into an image of dependence, waiting, and economic vulnerability.

The series places the body inside the sites and clothing of labor. Construction, supermarket, transport, kitchen, and service become stages in a shared question about the value assigned to time and to the working body.

In everyday Chilean Spanish, quedar colgado means being left waiting, without an answer or resolution. The expression connects the suspension of the tarot card to an economic experience: a worker whose time remains subject to decisions made by others.

El Colgado, construction worker
Construction worker.
El Colgado, supermarket worker
Supermarket worker.
El Colgado, public transport monitor
Public transport monitor.
El Colgado, cook
Cook.
El Colgado, waiter
Waiter.

POSITION IN THE CURATORIAL MAP

flowchart LR A((World Representation)) --> T([The Tangible]) A --> I((The Intangible)) I --> C((Images of Capitalism)) I --> P([Images of the Popular]) I --> AN([Images of the Ancestors]) C --> C1((1. El Colgado)) C --> C2([2. Mr. Burns in Chile]) C --> C3([3. El Empaquetador]) C --> C4([4. Rostro Esperanza]) C --> C5([5. Tragedian]) click A "/en/world-representation.html" "Go to World Representation" click T "/en/tangible.html" "Go to The Tangible" click I "/en/intangible.html" "Go to The Intangible" click C "/en/images-of-capitalism.html" "Go to Images of Capitalism" click P "/en/images-of-the-popular.html" "Go to Images of the Popular" click AN "/en/images-of-the-ancestors.html" "Go to Images of the Ancestors" click C1 "/en/the-hanged-man.html" "You are here" click C2 "/en/mr-burns-in-chile.html" "Go to Mr. Burns in Chile" click C3 "/en/the-bagger.html" "Go to El Empaquetador" click C4 "/en/face-of-hope.html" "Go to Rostro Esperanza" click C5 "/en/tragedian.html" "Go to Tragedian"

TECHNICAL SHEET

Code: COLG_CAPI_0001
Year: 2008–2012
Type: Photographic series
Set: 5 color photographs
Display dimensions: 150 × 100 cm each
Status: Digital record available; part of the wardrobe survives.

CONCEPTUAL READING

The inverted body disrupts the familiar relationship between occupation, productivity, and identity. Each uniform stops functioning as a simple occupational sign and becomes a structure that supports, restricts, and exposes the subject.

Images of Capitalism

Images of Capitalism

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Mr. Burns in Chile

Next: Mr. Burns

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