CASH CROP

Daniel Barragán plays with the format of painting by combining it with his research based in Indigenous
and Chicano studies of the American Southwest. Born in El Paso, TX, the visual connection is immediate: canvases in the shape of bandanas, spurs, and clay vessels speak to the history of the landscape and native populations, while the imagery and subject matter of bumper stickers, pop-culture monsters, and KISS create a sharp contrast of time and place. In true American-melting-pot fashion, Barragán draws inspiration from pinstriping, nail art, special fx makeup and fashion, combining them with his love for process and craft such as metal smithing, beading, textiles, and different forms of ornamentation. In one sense, this is Indigenous Futurism, reinterpreting the future (or the present) as alternative timelines without colonization or at least with unmitigated autonomy and self-direction, in which we can imagine a beaded Beetlejuice or sand paintings of KISS.