AUTObiographies

Additional Information

Other associated events: Opening Reception and Artists' discussions with Betsabée Romero and Rubén Ortiz Torres, Friday, April 20, 8:00 pm

AUTObiographies seeks to examine the automobile as a cultural sign of belonging. We, as social beings, have long sought means to integrate our identities into social groups. If we find common symbols and signs to describe ourselves, that integration can appear to be natural and normal. The car, as a descriptor of the individual who drives it, exists as one of those symbols. The work of Betsabée Romero explores cultural signs through the automobile and automobile parts. Through her sculpture, she explores the cultural diaspora of Latin America. Mayan, Spanish and contemporary Latin American imagery is etched, painted and built on an automobile, representing the culture in which she lives and works. Romero will be working in a residency at the Albert Branch Library during her time in Regina. Rubén Ortiz Torres will be presenting his work La Zamba del Chevy. This 3D film focuses on a tricked out 1960 Chevy identical to the one driven by Ché Guevara: audiences can watch as the car "dances" to a ubiquitous song about the revolutionary. Tom Benner's automobiles explore the appropriation of historical Native American figures to market contemporary automobiles. Made from 'traditional materials', these works tell the stories of the DeSoto, and the Pontiac Starchief.

AUTObiographies (Installation View), 2007.