Burning of the Object. Presence of Absence.

Also known as The Dog in the Manger (El Perro del Hortelano), this sculpture by Pablo Serrano shows his interest in delimiting the space occupied by objects. It is ascribed to the series Drama and Burning of the Object (Drama y Quema del Objeto) which he created from 1957 to 1959 as part of a process conceived to be carried out in open spaces with the participation of spectators. In this series Serrano reflects on the destructive action of fire—all materials die, perish, disappear, yet remaining after their death is the presence of absence.Since the beginning, humans have carved the stone of their caves with silhouettes of their bodies. This leads to the conclusion that the concept of the occupation and emptying of space already existed back then. Once the bodies naturally disappeared, the shape of man was still evident.