UNM Alum Exhibition, “Hold and Cherish” by Martin Wannam

Opening Reception:
January 6, 2023 from 5:00-8:30pm

Location:
401 2nd St SW
Albuquerque, NM 87102

This exhibition reflects on the power of monuments by questioning the ideologies they can reinforce. The brown silhouettes in each portrait takes the place of the monuments in Guatemala City with violent, oppressive histories, especially in relation to the LGBTQ+ community. Removing the iconography and placing the brown silhouette in its place creates an intervention that asks the viewer to reimagine each monument’s power through a queer lens. By combining a variety of popular culture references and textures to each artwork, a maximalist anti-aesthetic is created. The concept of monumentality is also present in the video installation. Each performer becomes a moving monument and the audience becomes a participant of the work as they partake in the spectacle. The exhibition asks, what would a queer utopia look like? What, or who, would be idolized through a monument?