A Caged Sun - New Voices: Design - Print Center New York 2026
A Caged Sun
Print and Video Installation with Vinyl Wallpaper; 4K UHD Digital Animation, 5.1 Surround Sound (via Headphones)
216" W X 156"H; Infinite Loop
2026
"The intention behind A Caged Sun was to create an expression of dissent from the U.S. semiquincentennial celebrations taking place this year while also creating a space for contemplation about the internal structural decay of our once treasured democratic institutions and ideals. The vertical video at the nucleus of the installation runs a looping digital animation illustrating the increased gamification of human rights violations via the cruelest immigration policies imaginable under the 47th presidential administration. The animation visualizes a spinning mandala of Amazon packages pointing squarely at an embedded DHS logo paired with an unsettling soundtrack available via headphones."
- Michael Menchaca
Curated by Andrew Raftery and commissioned by The Print Center New York for the 2026 exhibition, New Voices: Design.
"The central image in Menchaca's A Caged Sun is the proposed triumphal arch for Washington, D.C., here surrounded by a cacophonous field of corporate logos, computer icons, emojis, and motifs drawn from thousands of years of Mexican history. Menchaca's rich visual lexicon and pattern design is built on a deep awareness of visual languages ranging from Mesoamerican codices to European bestiaries to video games to the seductive allure of technological interfaces. Here, Menchaca contextualizes the proposed Washington D.C. arch within the oppressive, colonizing effects of the digital platforms that have come to touch so many parts of contemporary life." - Andrew Raftery
Photos by: Argenis Apolinario
Courtesy of The Print Center New York, MMXXVI
New Voices: Design
Print Center New York
535 W 24th Street
New York, NY
On View | June 11 — August 22, 2026
