Photos | Freddie Arango | HOMELAND
600 finely welded washers give shape to this culture made by Jorge Luis Gil in his mechanical metal workshop located in the San José neighborhood of Manizales.
Jorge Luis collected 600 iron washers for three months and decided to make a sculpture in homage to the woman. He began to design a back with a mask and continued with the elaboration of a silicone mold, he painted the washers in a copper color and one by one he joined them with electric welding until he shaped a stylized and perfect back despite the rustic material. “I designed the mask in a moment of inspiration, it looks Egyptian,” says Gil.
He has been in the metalworking trade for 20 years after having worked for several years as a traffic guard. “When I lost my job, I learned this trade from a friend. Thank God I know this art because we have made everything from machines to peel chickens to building a van, whatever they bring me in a photo that is made of iron, I do.”
At the door of the Gil workshop, located on Calle 26 number 26 – 27 in the park of the San José neighborhood, the sculpture is exhibited while Jorge Luis continues with his daily routine of fixing vans and bodies, as well as making handicrafts, mirror frames and everything related to iron and welding.
“During these days of the beginning of the year, the work is very difficult, I have been closing this business because it is no longer sustained” he reflects while making it clear that this sculpture is the beginning of many others.
Photos | Freddie Arango | HOMELAND
The mask and the eye grill are made of 18-gauge sheet metal and it has a small ornament on the forehead, this is how Jorge Luis describes the face in this work.
The washers were glued with welding after having made the fiberglass mold “since welding is very hot, the mold is damaged, you always have to make a new one for this type of work.” Indicates Jorge Luis.
Jorge Luis has no price for his work “People who pass through the workshop have been very motivated by the sculpture, they ask how much does it cost? At this moment I don’t know, it’s something that was inspiration, suddenly look at what value to sell it and struggle to make a different one”.
In the workshop, he easily goes from organizing a hit on a vehicle, to building goals for micro-soccer fields and continuing to imagine what his next artistic work will be. Solders, a sander, a compressor and hammers were the tools he used to shape his sculpture.
