CANCELLED DUE TO CLOSURE OF CAMPUS IN AN EFFORT TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF COVID-19. WILL BE RESCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 2020, DATES TBA
Eastfield College’s Gallery 219 is in the process of rescheduling for artist Christian Cruz' first solo exhibition, I don’t dream of labor: Living Portraits of a 1st Generation Chicana. Cruz is a multi-media artist working at the intersection between theater, dance, visual arts and poetry. Her concepts take form in the mediums of performance, installation, video and photo.
As a first generation American, Cruz’ performances share Mexican history and customs to address historical erasure, immigration politics, Chicanisma (Mexican American feminism), gender fluidity, pansexuality, intimacy, and futurism. Cruz states, “With a bit of anger, passion, humor, pain, resistance and strength, her performances rely on materials as metaphors.” Dirt, rope, a tree branch, familial clothing, a bed, and other objects are important to her practice, retaining a lingering meaning even after the performance stops. I don’t dream of labor will present four performance installations depicting different forms of labor done by Mexican-American women including domestic/physical labor, emotional labor, spiritual work or “heart work,” and non-labor such as pleasure activism. This exhibition serves as a linear story, illustrating the layers peeling away from these Chicana women to find their value in relation to labor. Within a culture like the United States which posits the question, “What is your dream job?” at a very early age, the Chicana women in this exhibition are tired after so much hard work. They respond, “I don’t dream of labor.” Each installation will be activated by a performer for the duration of the opening reception. Then the installations will live as ephemera for the public to view through the exhibition dates. A second daytime performance will give the public an opportunity to view the work in its entirety again. Performers under the direction of Christian Cruz are Angel Cruz, Sophia Haid, Christina Ramirez, Paloma Salas, and Amy Zapien.
Christian Cruz has been creating performance art since 2010. In 2019, her work was included in Cosmic to Corporeal: Contemporary Queer Performance Practices at The MAC in Dallas, TX curated by Liss LaFleur and the Texas Vignette at the Women’s Museum in Dallas curated by Leslie Moody Castro. She lives and works in Dallas, TX. More about her work can be found at www.christiancruzperformance.com and via social media @tejanastories.
Gallery 219 is located at Eastfield College in room F219C on the second level of the F building on the west side of campus. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm. Parking is free.
Eastfield College, 3737 Motley Drive, Mesquite, TX 75150
Iris Bechtol
Gallery Director | Arts and Communications
972.860.7329 | F211 | [email protected]
Price
- FREE!
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