Peso Completo, 2024, Acrylic and oil on canvas. 24 x 30. Luchadores function overtly. The act of storytelling and drama through wrestling reminds me of my reflections, my longing for confrontation of what’s at hand (identity, conflictions, unity). The genre of masked wrestling positions itself as a modern morality play; a clear spectacle of the forces of good and evil, the collective versus the corrupt. For decades, lucha libre mirrored the political world of the lower class in Mexico City, a kinship unspoken, but understood. Through the iconography and values of lucha libre, I call for liberation.
Máscara contra Máscara, 2024, Acrylic and oil on canvas. 50 x 48. Masks, shifting identities, and a cultural threadleading back to home grounds my work in themes of radical justice and transformative love. Together with the iconography of the eagle, I unite the intersections of post-colonial national identities and the origins rooted in their stories: freedom.
@thisisnotaraceli | azcrmme.wixsite.com/letshugsome | As a form of salvation from an eroding grief, the passion and force of lucha libre mended my sorrows. The elements of performance and immortalization in luchadores mirrored my wishes for liberation, for an eternal expression of love. Masks, shifting identities, and a cultural thread leading back to home grounds my work in themes of radical justice and transformative love. Together with the iconography of the eagle, I unite the intersections of post-colonial national identities and the origins rooted in their stories: freedom. My goals are to re-examine the appropriation inflicted on symbols of indigenous mythologies and oral histories. In a time as crucial as now, holding space for truth is imperative. There is power in where we place our attention, our love and our care.
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Exhibition Artists | Giovanna Aguirre-Peresson • Noa Alemán • Lex Applewhite • Danielle Arend • Bria Bridges • Luis Carrasco • Katie Cercone • San Chen • Juana Duran Charicata • Jason Guzman • Insidious Studios • Akira Iyashikei • Tai Kojro-Badziak • Kevin C. Lawler • Sara Laureano • Sunshine Lombre • Catherine (Yiwen) Lyu • Lisa Mannion • Victor Manuel Manzo Meneses • Dani Massey • Cara Mastanduno • Toni Maugeri • Mark Nelson • Earica Parrish • Gabriel Patti • Luna Rail • Maria Requena • Amyia Ross • Evelyn Rubi Hernandez • Kaltra Seferi • Zelda Jane Thorn • Hope Wood • Araceli Zuniga