By: Jessie Chrobocinski Photo via: K Space Contemporary
A collection of visual narratives dealing with time, identity, and place via the cultural crossover between South Texas and Northern Mexico explores ongoing immigration issues occurring on the Texas – Mexico border. La Visa Negra 2.0: hanging the laundry outside is the latest thought-provoking art exhibition at K Space Contemporary debuts on January 7, during ArtWalk from 5:30-9:00 pm.
Salvadorian artist, designer, and educator Leila Hernández uses repurposed material to represent humanized signifiers of likely situations experienced by the thousands of nameless and faceless workers or obreros who straddle both sides of the border regularly.
Her background inspires the artistic style in handcrafts (Artesanias) and her love of the colors, textures, and patterns found in the various places she has lived, visited, and studied. Using sustainable materials, including clothing garnered from thrift shops and flea markets (ropa usada) and items gathered at the border wall that immigrants use to cross over, such as wooden ladders.
La Visa Negra 2.0: hanging the laundry outside researches and references the daily lives and sociopolitical concerns of illegal immigrants living and working in the United States. Visa Negra is a satirical code known among the people crossing the border illegally through the Rio Grande River. Translating to black visa, it refers to the black inner tube as the only required “paperwork” needed to cross the river.
Gallery hours are Wednesday – Saturday 11 am to 5 pm and Sunday noon to 4 pm. For more information about the artist and K Space Contemporary programs and events, visit K Space Contemporary’s website.