A body, a collective mass, a clothesline. A textile analysis of a collage to understand the Estallido social in Colombia

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the insights that textiles offer into the Estallido social [social outburst] experienced in Colombia in 2021. Our examination centers around a collective creation – a collage that brings together embroidered photographs of the social protests, garments worn during the mobilizations, and interconnecting threads in various hues. Employing the collage as our starting point, our analysis takes on a collage-like nature, interpreting textiles and textile creation as companion materials. Throughout our argument, expressed through detailed descriptions and compositions of drawn and embroidered images, we contend that textiles, beyond serving as protest tools, also function as research instruments. They enable us to articulate how intimacy and care play pivotal roles in shaping the dynamics of social protests, especially materializing imperceptible yet noticeable bodies, creating sheltering collective masses and revealing personal vulnerabilities in public spaces.

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