When the axial skeleton decides to speak & We are contextual and sentimental, 2025

Sofía Salazar Rosales, When the axial skeleton decides to speak & We are contextual and sentimental, 2025; Iron powder, glass aggregate, plaster bandage, vinyl glue, fiberglass and polyester resin; 45 × 115 × 325 cm

In her practice, Salazar Rosales focuses on the lives, origins and functions of materials, many of which highlight the contrast between local architectures.

In this series, the artist has represented a bent IPN beam typically used in civil construction in order for a building to withstand the heavy weight it must carry. The reimagined beams of Salazar Rosales are constructed using fine glass fixed onto fiberglass as opposed to steel. The sculptures are formed into irregular positions to imagine the IPN beams as being fatigued by the burden they are destined to resist. The artist explains, “I imagined that they were fragile and uncared for since they are hidden we cannot see how they are.” By removing them from their urban origins, Salazar Rosales offers an empathetic contemplation of their emotive condition. The title, When the axial skeleton decides to speak, thus poetically treats the sculpture more like a body by referring to it as a skeleton.

This piece presents the beam resting on two representations of “costales,” or sacks of goods such as flour, rice and sugar. These bags hold strongly political connotations because of their iconography, slogans and brands, connected to themes of colonialism and neocolonialism, identity, the histories of their products, as well as economic and social issues. To accentuate these works, Salazar Rosales has removed, modified, or added certain words and/or images to either make them more explicit or to grant affection to the coldness of their bodies, congealed by wax.