La Raza Cósmica 20XX
Chino No.8
from La Raza Cósmica 20XX, A suite of 16 screen prints
Screenprint on Stonehenge Pearl Grey; Edition of 10; 21” wide x 22.5” tall
2019
Printed and Published by Julia Samuels at Overpass Projects
La Raza Cósmica 20XX presents a mythical re-interpretation of Jose Vasconcelos’ mestizo identity theory, La Raza Cósmica, using animal stand-ins to depict the intermixing between Latinx bodies. In his theory, Vasconcelos states that the Latin American intermixing of European DNA with Amerindian, Asian, and African DNA, created an ethnical fusion, a mestizáje, which he characterized as the cosmic race. The 16 individual prints in the series feature New World racial combinations as a variety of animal archetypes posing with their Big Tech “smart” devices in the traditional Casta painting form.