The work of Bernardo Oyarzún has been impregnated with his self-image. At school, as a dark-skinned Chilean he had to endure name-calling, like ‘black’ or ‘native Indian’ but it is undoubtedly when he was arrested by the police on the street after being confused with a criminal, that his self-esteem was most wounded. That terrible event gave birth to “Bajo Sospecha” (Under Suspension, 1998) in which the artist reproduced photos of himself as the police portrayed him when he was arrested.

His work is inserted in a proletarian context, its references are taken from the marginal sectors of society and it has an anthropological basis that is associated with Latin American identity, its native roots and mestizaje.