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Artwork

No 1 (2018): Abolishing Carceral Society, 22

After My Pa Cut the Grass

Published
December 1, 2018

Abstract

Yvette Mayorga’s project Borderland Series (2014–2015) employs confection, industrial materials, and the American board game Candy Land as a conceptual framework to juxtapose the border- lands of the United States and Mexico. The spaces in the “Candy Lands” of her work relate to notions of Utopia, exemplifying the immigrant’s vision of the American Dream. Candy Land signifies an America filled with the possibility of happiness while Mexico becomes the land of lost hope. Informed by the politics of the bor- der, the events that happen on it and the transnational narratives that arise after crossing it, Yvette tackles issues of race, identity, gender, and Latin stereotypes using the visual tropes of celebration. The monuments/towers, built from accumulated candy, frosting found objects exemplify the excess associated with the American Dream. They stand as living shrines to real life individuals, such as Selena Quintanilla, her mother, and her sister.


Author Biography

Yvette Moayorga received her BFA from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is currently an MFA candidate at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Yvette has exhibited in galleries and museums including the Krannert Art Museum at University of Illinois, The National Museum of Mexican Art, and EXPO Chicago Art Fair.