Salcedo’s sculptures are composed of found objects—like clothing and furniture—that associate with the body and its domestic realm. She subverts our accustomed responses to these familiar objects and exposes our internalized fears, anxieties, and emotional fantasies. Here, the artist transformed a well-worn, old-fashioned baby’s crib into a barricaded cage—a particularly poignant metaphor for protection and isolation. During the “dirty wars” in certain South American countries—including Argentina and Colombia—in the 1970s, young political activists were “disappeared” by the military junta and their infants put up for adoption.

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