Mario Ybarra Jr.’s installations rearticulate mainstream American narratives to include and document the Chicano experience.
Mario Ybarra Jr.’s historical and autobiographical work looks into the various elements that make up his personality and influences, including style, time periods (80s/90s), family, geography (Southern California), and culture (Chicano/Mexican). Focusing on his life and that of his family, the exhibition shows as a single, large-scale installation, mimicking the display of art and objects in a historical museum. Both fictional and nonfictional in nature, the collection of toys, clothing, art, and other items build an image of a family, one that exists within American popular culture, that is distinctly unique, diverse, multicultural, and heterogeneous.
Depicting the sculpture, video, installation, and painting that comprises the installation, with the addition of personal family photos and poetry about his family members, the catalog serves as a self-authored re-articulation of the American narrative. Moving away from common stereotypes and mainstream histories, Ybarra Jr.’s work, the exhibition, and this publication are an attempt to document the contributions of the Chicano community and add them to the cultural and historical field of record.
The catalog also contains an interview between Ybarra Jr. and Miki Garcia, Executive Director of SBCAF, as well as a fictional story by writer Karla Diaz, Ybarra Jr.’s wife and co-founder of the artist collective Slanguage in Wilmington, CA.
Produced in conjunction with the SBCAF exhibition Mario Ybarra Jr.: The Tío Collection, August 5 - September 30, 2012.
Softcover, 139 pages, 75 color photographs and installation views, LHW 7.625” x 10.25” x 0.5”
