Pablo Villegas' sculpture critically, ironically, and directly represents society, focusing on social justice and the flaws of the prevailing economic system.
His work draws from two fields of contemporary thought: biopolitics and necropolitics, both addressing the concept of the body as exploitable capital. In today’s world, the body is subjected to a dynamic process of surveillance and dispossession—not only of its life but also of its death. This occurs within the global economic landscape, whose grand narrative not only sanctifies consumption and profit but also dictates who is deemed worthy to continue and who can be discarded, who is seen as a threat, and who can attain the status of being "human."
His work draws from two fields of contemporary thought: biopolitics and necropolitics, both addressing the concept of the body as exploitable capital. In today’s world, the body is subjected to a dynamic process of surveillance and dispossession—not only of its life but also of its death. This occurs within the global economic landscape, whose grand narrative not only sanctifies consumption and profit but also dictates who is deemed worthy to continue and who can be discarded, who is seen as a threat, and who can attain the status of being "human."
Villegas' work confronts the ferocity of our current era, where devastation and death—whether of natural environments or human groups—actively function as tools of political and economic regulation. In “Post-Truth”, the sculptural bodies exhibit a physiological quality, as if their exposed tissue has been altered by the technologies of power.
At this intersection of realities, the biological and the necropolitical intertwine. The dichotomy lies in either having it all or falling out of the system of productivity into complete vulnerability. As the artist himself states:
“From this new and uncertain landscape, I wish to approach my exhibition—anchored in truth, avoiding euphemisms, and reclaiming one of Art’s responsibilities: its ability to create narratives that help write History from every perspective, bringing us as close as possible to the truth. Through my sculptural work, I seek to guide the viewer through a Chile that is awakening but has had to bear the costs of striving to live in peace.”
