Collection

The work “Our Current Picture: Alejandra” is one of a series of large-format portraits of primates painted on paper with a broom. Using such an implement requires the artist to “dance” round each sheet of paper. In Cruzvillegas’ search for political implications of the simple act of drawing, he was inspired by the Korean painter Kim Jeong-hui’s letters to his translator friend, Yi Sang-jeok, from the early 19th century. They contained drawings, including a winter landscape with a snow-covered house, which Cruzvillegas sees as a political declaration—a complaint by the exiled painter. In his own piece, the Mexican artist brings up another political theme: apes and monkeys have frequently featured in Latin American political satire, caricatures, and lampoons. The artist named each drawing in the
series after members of his family (depending on their likeness to various primate species).