Evelyn, from the series La manzana de Adán (Adam's apple), by Paz Errázuriz, 1982–90

Paz Errázuriz, Artist
Evelyn, from the series La manzana de Adán (Adam's apple) , 1982–90

Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
15 9/16 × 23 1/2 in. (39.5 × 59.7 cm)
Credit Line
Courtesy of the artist and Galería AFA, Santiago

The need to investigate environments wholly condemned in the oppressive context of the Chilean dictatorship (1973–90) led the photographer Paz Errázuriz to embark on a project on marginalized subjects that she would pursue over the course of several years. She visited brothels: La Palmera in Santiago and La Jauja, a transvestite brothel in Talca. She photographed those spaces from 1982 to 1990, when her book La manzana de Adán (Adam's apple), with texts by Claudia Donoso, was published. Evelyn (1983), an image of a reclining subject with mirror behind, is an appropriation and reworking of Diego Velázquez's Toilet of Venus ("The Rokeby Venus") (1647–51). Errázuriz's subject is captured by the camera at different times of day and in different situations: with a pornographic calendar; in the evening, when she undergoes transformation, makeup turning her face into another's; posing for a family portrait with her partner, both dressed in men's clothing.

La necesidad de investigar ámbitos completamente castigados en el contexto opresivo de la dictadura en Chile (1973-1990) llevó a la fotógrafa Paz Errázuriz a iniciar un proyecto de varios años sobre sujetos marginalizados. Ella visitó burdeles, La Palmera, en Santiago y La Jauja, un prostíbulo travesti en Talca, que fotografió entre 1982 y 1990, cuando publica el libro La manzana de Adán, que incluye los textos de Claudia Donoso. Evelyn (1983), retratada recostada, con un espejo detrás, apropiando y revirtiendo a La Venus del espejo de Diego Velázquez (1647-51), es seguida por la cámara en distintos momentos del día: con un almanaque pornográfico; cuando se transforma, al atardecer, y el maquillaje hace de su rostro, otro; o posando en un retrato familiar junto a su compañero, ambos con ropas masculinas.