Title of Work: Authenticate/Destroy
Date: 2025
Medium: Hand-woven yarn, c-stand, wood, nails, wooden dowel, rope, steel hook, aluminum baby rattle, acrylic paint, spray paint, plastic bottle caps, glue
Dimensions: 80 inches by 47 inches by 28 inches

This work considers subaltern social groups and classes as they begin to rise to dominance confronting the existing hegemony. It takes influence from Antonio Gramsci’s notions of subalternity, common sense and hidden transcripts, and the emergence of organic intellectuals. The subalterns, those who are oppressed by the ruling class and mentally subordinated with fear and humiliation, share a class common sense, which contains the seeds for new political narratives, and speak a hidden transcript, a subversive critique of power whispered behind the back of the dominant class. The organic intellectuals emerge from within the subaltern class, and it is through dialogue between organic intellectuals and the subalterns that they create coherent political narratives with the power to inspire collective action and social transformation. As the inchoate subaltern class rises under the leadership of the organic intellectuals, there is a need for new art, symbols, and designs, new tools and technologies, and new weapons and equipment that embody and are used to serve their political narratives and ideologies.

The painted image in this assemblage takes inspiration from wall murals in a former prison turned museum in León, Nicaragua. The prison known as La 21 was used as a location for torturing enemies of the Somoza dictatorship. The building was turned into the Museo de Mitos y Leyendas in the year 2000 and its painted murals depict how prisoners were tortured throughout the years. This work also includes an aluminum chischil or baby rattle purchased in Masaya, Nicaragua. Chischils are used in folkloric festivities and are a symbol of Nicaragua’s indigenous culture and history.