«Madrid I» is the official denomination of the prison of Carabanchel: «Penitentiary Center Madrid I». «El peso de la justice» is the title of two of the issues of the magazine «Archipiélago» – Cuadernos de Crítica de la Cultura, which deal with the past, present and future of the spanish penitentiary system in general.
This work, among others, is part of a photographic series in b/w by the author in 1998, a week after the inmates of the Carabanchel prison were transferred and the prison closed. This first visit and subsequent ones have been possible thanks to his father worked in these facilities from the 70s until its closure. In March 2007, they were again inside the prison, completing and photographically and sonorously documenting the current state of the premises, thanks to the collaboration of the General Directorate of Penitentiary Institutions.
This first installation consists of 9 homemade weights, made according to the procedure used by the inmates of the Madrid I Penitentiary Center (recorded in one of the photographs made in this site in 1998) and two photographs of this center carried out in that same facility Year, between October and November, a week after the inmates were relocated as a result of the closure of the penitentiary. These photographs show one of the cells of the prisoners intended to be executed by the Garrote Bill and the gym and laundry room.
In the installation, the two photographs are placed side by side and supported in balance on the weights and on the ground, so that the whole structure created (photographs + weights) tilts due to the weight of the cramped elements, As if it were going to crumble and break.
