‘Metallix Tazos’ on view now at @_smoca for ‘Forever Becoming’! So surreal to be a part of this show with amazing artists!
This work, accompanied by two videos, is a continuation of my bordertown ASMR series where I demonstrate role-play situations that embody my border town experiences through the internet phenomenon, ASMR.
I’ve typically disseminated this work through Youtube videos, and am excited to see this work re-contextualized in a museum setting. Over the past year it’s been exciting to share these works in different public settings, since ASMR is typically intimate and watched in privacy, possibly due to its strong association with sexuality.
In ‘Metallix Tazos,” I printed portraits of actresses on found Tazos—disks distributed world-wide as promotional toys like Pogs—which were used, mostly by boys, to play games in my grade-school courtyard. I wanted to connect myself, an ASMR performer, with actresses that have influenced my online presence and femininity. Collectively, the works in the Bordertown ASMR series touch on nostalgia, viral internet culture, and examine societal-gender norms that transcend borders.
I want to thank @sazarik , @sonorangothic@shelbyjoseph , @samfresquez , @merrynalaka , @carosgovroom , @lauren.r.oconnell , @flyinmike1 , @priscillaurrutia for helping with the creation of these new works.
“Que Chukis,” is a collaboration with @newlimerence and @sazarik
The phrase loosely translates to “how cool”. Neon signage is historically associated with big cities, tourism, and commercialism, and I wanted to play with that idea but with using bordertown slang. It occurred to me that there is no certain way of me knowing whether phrases I grew up using are still relevant or being passed down from generation to generation, so this project aims to preserve this phrase.
thank you to everyone who came to the opening reception of In the Spirit of the Hills. For those who didn’t, it’s not too late :) public hours this next week are Thursday-Saturday 12pm to 5pm, or you can make an appointment by emailing [email protected] or DM me !
Thank you for your help this week @mikeyfosterestes@emmidiately@espo.mar@daniel_khorami
Ella con hijos y yo acá chambeando en el iceberg de Club Penguin
showing at gracies this sunday as part of a screening hosted by @curatedbyamo (screening is 9-10pm). come and we will drink palomas and watch short films together. this piece is kinda personal cause life has been rough but you wouldn’t know it and I’m masking my trauma through pingüinos
This piece draws from conversations found within the virtual world of Club Penguin. Once created as a children’s game, it has since transformed into a space where adults gather, often engaging in unexpectedly profound exchanges, discussions about finding work, moving abroad, and most prominently, relationships and informal group therapy.
In exploring these dialogues, I began tracing parallels between them and my own lived experience with infidelity, and the trauma and passage of time bound up in it. The work becomes a kind of time capsule, preserving conversations that vanish as quickly as they appear. Perhaps it feels easier to process subjects like love, loss, and betrayal when voiced through penguin avatars within a chat log that leaves no permanent record.
