Broken Feet

Photo credits: Reproduced with permission of the Museum of Modern Art of Bogotá – MAMBO
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Ana Cristina Vélez

1961
Bronze and baked clay

We see five feet severed from their bodies: some white, others Black, with truncated toes, unordered, genderless, and solitary. Positioned variously, these lifeless limbs appear disoriented towards uncertain destinies. Vélez invites reflection on Article 24 of the Constitution, related to the fundamental right of all persons to move freely within the national territory. However, these mutilated feet—affected by forced displacement, armed conflict, violence, or the inadequate design of public spaces for persons with disabilities—raise the question: under such conditions, can the right to freedom of movement be fully enjoyed? These reflections have been examined by the Constitutional Court in rulings T-202 of 2013 and especially T-745 of 2015.