disguises of power, 2022-2023

white chocolate, refrigerator

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Marble lions are commonly used as guardians of power. They valiently guard spaces of power, such as Courthouses, National Palaces and Parks and sit beside kings and queens to protect their thrones. This symbol, commonly found in public space as a permanent, untouchable and powerful structure, is now casted in white chocolate (resembling marble), fragile and feeble, distorting its value and offering new meanings to it. This is the first of a series of pieces that seek to create a survey of disguises of power (ornamental architecture used as an attempt to make buildings look “powerful” and opulent) in an attempt to reflect on how public spaces are marked by symbols of power and domination, and think about how we can reappropriate and resignify them. For Material Art Fair in Mexico City, a lion was broken down into smaller pieces and set up in a table. The pieces were sold by the gram and handed out in plastic bags with a purchase ticket that also worked as a certificate of authenticity, indicating the amount of grams bought and the total paid.