Cossos en reclusió i cavant. Experiències i representacions emblemàtiques sobre la persona
The article explores the relationship of the person with the hole through both literal and metaphorical situations. On the one hand, it points up the body in seclusion and suspended in a time interval, as in the case of the accident at the mine in San José (Chile) or works by artists like J. Wall, G. Schneider or R. Ondák. In this way, opposed feelings evoke the experiences of waiting and/or punishment, which are explanatory of a confined body or a hole. Literature, cinema and art deal with these events from multiple aspects, which become existential allegories about the individual. On the other hand, the act of digging gains prominence as a symbol of work, but also of the absurd. Recalling the ambivalence that may suggest a person making a hole, this article carries out a drift through works by artists of different generations and contexts, such as C. Burden, M. Heizer, F. Miralles, Geliti, S. Sierra, F. Alÿs, M. Salum, X. Ristol or N. Güell. A series of clearly performative or conceptual works, where the act of digging, drilling, burying or unburying become common practices that show the diversity of meanings and intentions.