NICOLAS BONILLA

Edgardo Aragón creates work that reflects the everyday reality and the mythology of Mexico. Using narratives inspired by the particularities of their respective local contexts, Aragón evokes events—some with very violent undertones—and shapes them into scenes molded by landscapes. His work also addresses points of familial and social inheritance that are conditioned by the local environment, creating a personal body of work recounted through poetic narratives. Aragón's approach to landscape recalls fukeiron, the “landscape theory” developed in the late 1960s by Japanese filmmakers, who put forward the idea that the landscapes encountered in everyday life, even beautiful postcard-like ones, are an expression of the dominant political powers. In the case of Aragón, the powers represented in his landscapes are drug cartels, political parties and foreign companies, all intertwined with each other in corrupt deals.

The work on view in the exhibition, Pacman 2064 is reminiscent of his project Mesoamerica: The Hurricane Effect, which includes a video as well as series of hand drawn maps -based on historical cartography- that examine the effects of foreign power in Mexico today. Mesoamerica was home to a rich civilization that emerged around 10,000 years BC and out of which grew the rich Maya, Aztec and Zapotec cultures, among many others. The series speaks to contemporary foreign and US involvement and control of resources in Mexico—from drugs as a large part of the global economic system to environmental resources like water and the devastating climate effects that reflect economic and political dependencies.

Edgardo Aragón (born in Oaxaca, Mexico, 1985) received a B.A. from Mexico’s National School of Painting, Sculpture and Engraving. His work has been exhibited in numerous institutions including Laurel Gitlen Gallery-NY, Luckman Gallery-L.A., Hamidrasha Gallery-Israel, The Istanbul Biennale, San Francisco Art Institute, Mercosur Biennial, El Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporaneo (MUAC) – Mexico City, Museum of Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth – Texas, USA and others.