Evidence: Artistic Responses to the Drug Cartel Wars (2013)
Ernesto Ortiz Leyva
Violencia Extrema! / Extreme Violence!, 2011
Acrylic on manta
Ernesto Ortiz Leyva presents a series of paintings on Mexican manta, a type of common cloth used by some to make clothes and also by the drug cartels to leave threatening messages atop corpses. Exploring the emotional impact of cultural obliteration and the loss of corporal dignity, portions of Ortiz’s paintings are left exposed and blank, creating an existential chalk outline of those who have been murdered. El nuevo Alarma! is a Mexican news magazine that specializes in graphic pictures of traffic accidents, murder victims, etc. and has a circulation of approximately 15 million.
Evidence: Artistic Responses to the Drug Cartel Wars
June 21 – August 31, 2013
Intersection for the Arts
San Francisco, CA
Photo credit: Ernesto Ortiz Leyva