Presagios en vuelo sobre pisos de madera
15th FEMSA Biennial, La voz de la montaña, Guanajuato, MX, 2024
Josué Mejía's work stems from revisiting the visual imaginaries of modernity, drawing on the works of iconic modern artists and media representations. In this piece, he animates the painting México negro (1942) by Guanajuato artist José Chávez Morado, as a portent of the industrial future of the Bajío and Mexico. He selected two main elements from the painting. On one hand, the ox skeleton, featured in an animated video inside a punch clock, references the workdays. The narrative follows the character as it drinks a black liquid – referring to petroleum derivatives produced in Salamanca – until it is reduced to bones. On the other hand, he revives the flying creatures from the painting, which mechanically move and carry a series of drawings on their wings, inspired by cartoons depicting industrial processes related to oil and automotive manufacturing. The work explores the anthropomorphic possibilities of the machine and the factory, while alluding to production in relation to time, automation, labor, and work.
Josué Mejía at the 15th FEMSA Biennial: The Voice of the Mountain, 2024. Museo de Arte e Historia de Guanajuato, León. Courtesy of FEMSA Biennial. Photography: Ramiro Chaves.
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