Enrique Chagoya

Enrique Chagoya also seeks to describe alternative cultural histories: “I integrate diverse elements: from pre-Columbian mythology, Western religious iconography, ethnic stereotypes, ideological propaganda from various times and places, American popular culture, etc. Often, the result is a non-linear narrative with many possible interpretations.” Working on amate bark paper, in the tradition of ancient codices (pictorial histories from pre-Colonial Central America) Chagoya creates current historiographies, depicting contemporary political happenings and figureheads engaging in symbolic battles. His multimedia works serve as humorous and incisive critiques of the cultural and political power-struggles taking place on the American continents, while referencing both ancient and contemporary aesthetic traditions. In Pyramid Scheme , Chagoya re-imagines Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans as a delectable collection of “Cannibulls” flavors like “Freddie Mac n’ Cheese” and “Mergers, Acquisitions and Lentils,” while in a codex titled Illegal Alien’s Guide to Political Theory political power brokers portrayed as self-absorbed superheroes frolic alongside traditional depictions of indigenous peoples.