Conceptualization
Since my last post, Lotería has gone through several visions as I’ve tried to understand what I want this project to be. My original intention was to use Lotería as a medium to speak directly about ICE raids. While that still informs this project, I’ve realized there is something equally as powerful about being loud and proud of Mexican life in a time when it can be safer to hide.
There is also something beautiful about reclaiming a game with European origins that be came very distinctly Mexican, and using it now to showcase real Mexican people.
What I’ve landed on is an immersive photographic exhibition.
I plan to replace and reimagine the archetypes of Lotería by finding Mexicans living in New York City and asking them:
If you could give yourself an identity, similar to La Lotería’s characters, such as “El Valiente” or “La Sirena",” what would it be, and why?
From there, I will photography these newly imagined “characters” in studio. My goal is to photograph each person in accordance with how they want to be seen, with the identity they’ve chosen for themselves.
I am also searching for a Mexican artist to design the backs of the cards to give them a handmade feel. I’ve recently been inspired by rubber stamp art and plan to use it for the text and numbers on the cards.
The final installation will present these portraits as projected Lotería cards in the Movement Lab. Using depth cameras (Microsoft Kinect V2), the cards will appear and disappear based on the viewer’s distance. When approached, the card will flip to reveal the portrait and play audio of the subject speaking about their chosen identity.
In addition to the projection experience, I plan to include a space where audiences can play live rounds of Lotería using the reimagined deck.
Carmen Lomas Garza, Lotería-Tabla Llena, 1972, hand-colored etching and aquatint on paper, image: 13 7⁄8 x 17 5⁄8 in. (35.3 x 44.9 cm) sheet: 16 3⁄4 x 21 in. (42.5 x 53.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, 1995.50.59, © 1972, Carmen Lomas Garza
I’m inspired by Lotería-Tabla Llena, 1972, a hand-colored etching by Carmen Lomas Garza. Particullarly the aerial view of the table surrounded by people of all ages. It reminds me that the point of Lotería is communal.
Juchitán, México, 1979
I’m also inspired by Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide, specifically Nuestra Señora de las Iguanas, Juchitán, México, 1979. The subject feels larger than life. I love the human yet staged elements. And of course, the iguanas functioning as a crown.
HASSAN HAJJAJ MOROCCO, B. 1961
ARFOUDI, 2016 / 1437
I’m also drawn to the work of Hassan Hajjaj, particularly his portraits of people in Morocco framed by everyday materials.
Since Lotería cards often feature “still-lifes,” with La Bandera or Le Tambor, I’m interested in incorporating Mexican objects or iconography as frames within the portraits.
