Carrying

Gender and the body

Gender and sexuality

Gender and space

Pepe Espaliú created various pieces entitled Carrying, sculptures which allude simultaneously to coffins and to palkis, or human powered sedans (wheel-less carriages used to transport the nobility). The Carrying pieces refer to death and to the isolation or marginalization of AIDS patients; but also to the idea of transport, care and accompaniment during this very difficult life experience, protection which Espaliú entreated of society. Espaliú played with the ambiguity of the term carrying, a term referring to transport that was often confused by persons of Hispanic origin living in New York with caring, referring to care and affection. This piece by Espaliú is dramatically charged, and is a metaphor for the experience of AIDS patients in those years in which television and the press bombarded the world with news of the pandemic.