Through his interest in autoconstrucción (“self-construction”), Abraham Cruzvillegas explores economies of the makeshift, the handmade and the recycled. In this publication, produced to accompany his 2009 exhibition at REDCAT, his work gravitates toward an examination of his childhood home and the neighborhood of Ajusco, a district in the south of Mexico City founded by migrants who, like his parents, settled in what was deemed uninhabitable land in the 1960s. Ajusco’s landscape of volcanic rock is a work in process. Structures are in a constant state of transformation as materials become available and necessity dictates. The sense of ingenuity and improvisation that created this vibrant, self-reliant and politically active community is the impetus for the artist’s own exploration of the roots of his practice.
In this publication, Abraham Cruzvillegas expands upon his interest in social organization, collaboration and exchange and explores autoconstrucción as methodology and form. The publication includes an exchange between artist, writer and activist Jimmie Durham and Cruzvillegas as well as contributions by Mark Godfrey, Clara Kim and Ryan Inouye.
Bilingual English/Spanish