Saltarín [Pogo Stick]

Darío Escobar questions the effects of colonialism, globalization, and consumerism through cunning manipulations of common objects, such as bicycle tires, lipstick, ping-pong paddles, baseball bats, and skateboards into sculptural forms. Here, Escobar embellished a pogo stick with an artisanal element from his natal Guatemala, silver panels embossed with decorative motifs specific to Spanish colonial iconography. This hybrid object jarringly juxtaposes the artisanal tradition of silverwork with mass-produced metal—and, simultaneously, the colonial past with the cultural impacts of globalization. In the process of creating this hand-made readymade, he renders this children’s toy nonfunctional.