Upon attempting to summarize MarcelayGina (Marcela&Gina), what initially popped in my mind was ‘Sweet debutantes with a penchant for violence’. They probably aren’t debutantes (despite the gold framed image of them in pink satin dresses in a Victorian era room on the left wall of the gallery), and their ‘penchant’ is probably more of an interest in violence than a like of it.

The fact that they hail from Mexico City greatly influences the context of their work dealing with danger, and whether or not it has directed meaning and purpose. This is a very tricky area, how much should a work be dictated by where it is from? Though I debate with myself the necessity of such clear reference, I also feel that they are not just some 18-year-old undergraduate student swallowing bullets for attention (yes, this happened, and probably has across the nation in undergraduate programs…but I wont mention names because I don’t belive they deserve the press). My father lived in Mexico City for several years, and I can from first hand experience say that it is probably the closest many people will come to seeing pandemonium – a place that is chaotic/beautiful/overwhelming/dangerous---an entire plethora of possibilities that could be used as a basis for cultural critique within a work of art.

Much of the work within this exhibit seemed to be along the lines of documentative photos and video pieces dealing with illegal smuggling, bribing, money laundering, etc., many core issues relevant in Mexican society; as well as containing several works that seemed to ooze sarcastic sweetness of two ladies often in pink. The pieces I liked best were not most obvious illustrative ones dealing with these themes (such as the one where money was literally laundered) but the ones that had a more vague sense of danger, or curiosity mixed with danger. Two pieces in particular caught my extended attention: ‘Ecko, don’t talk to me while I am in the kitchen’ – consisting of several pressure cookers set to explode with colored water. Though I heard the rumor of danger, they looked very passive (or lovely and harmless) letting out bits of steam from polished chrome - as far as I know they have yet to explode, which may be a good reason to take a quick peek at Queens for the possibility of chaos. ‘8 de los 28 objetos para aniquilar a alguien/8 out of the 28 objects to annihilate someone’ - the cataloguing of items the artists found in San Francisco that could be used to inflict harm, a slightly humorous display of objects with descriptions in text form to the right of the light box, including: ‘d. A spoon – can be used to throw boiling liquids in small doses distractedly’ ‘f. A wedding ring – thing that ties a person to someone else’s willing’

Images courtesy of Bob Linder

The two sides of MarcelayGina seem to be the ‘debutant sweetness’ versus the ‘illegal activists’ – maybe they are dealing with a very directed idea of dualisms, or maybe they are sweet debutants gone bad. Sweet girls being bad will usually please a few of us. Fortunately, MarcelayGina took some pieces farther than that for others of us.

Exhibition runs January 20th-Feb.18th 2006

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