Fragments of the Masculine initially began as a tribute to the connection Antonio Pulgarin felt to an uncle he had never known. Growing up, the Colombian American artist was always intrigued by tales of his deceased uncle, Jose Antonio Pulgarin. Shortly after her brother's passing, Antonio's mother made Jose's middle name his surname.Although he had never met his uncle, Pulgarin still felt close to him—not only through his name, but also through photographs. He was fascinated by the snapshots of his uncle's youth, including those of his time spent in the Colombian military. He found a lot of his own mannerisms or cultural experiences reflected in them.
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In 2015, Pulgarin built an archive of images of his uncle. He reproduced each image and experimented with photographic collage by ripping, deconstructing, adding to, and removing information from each to create something new. Throughout Fragments of the Masculine, Pulgarin incorporates patterned printed materials, cultural references, and dialect into his images as a subtle nod to his Colombian heritage. Check out the series below:
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