Curated by Marco Hermosillo (MX) and Lili Abdel-Ghany

Participating artists: Melika Abikenari (Iran); Damir Avdagic (Bosnia/Norway); Jackie Castillo (MX/USA); Saba Hakimi (Iran); Beliz Iristay (Turkey); Shoshi Kanokohata (Japan); Omar Pimienta (MX); Marisol Rendón (Colombia); Eunhae Grace Yoo (South Korea); Barak Zemer (Israel)

In the current political climate, immigration has been a controversial and often misrepresented issue. The concept of immigration remains a label used to describe the others. In political demagoguery, immigration has been reduced to statistics, economic threats, and Manichean stereotypes. Immigrants have become a rhetorical tool used by politicians in order to gain popularity among American voters.  Yet these definitions are limited, and fail to capture the sensible human experience of immigrants; their voices are completely muted in these public debates. Immigrants are relegated to the shadows, forced to submit to the whims of those in power.

In response to this, The Origin of Species connects individual anecdotes of ten immigrant artists, weaving them into a collective voice that reclaims the human struggle behind the immigrant experience. The exhibit takes an alternative perspective on a phenomenon that is rarely explored in Los Angeles art scene. Through drawing, photography, ceramics, video, and performance, the exhibition illustrates personal struggles dealing with cultural identity, social acceptance, legal limitations, expected gender roles, and discrimination. The Origin of Species attests to immigrants reclaiming their right to represent themselves and their stories.

Exhibition Images