REBECA
MÉNDEZ

The UCLA Department of Design Media Arts exhibition “Second Natures” was curated by Christiane Paul, curator of new media arts at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City. In her introduction essay she writes: “Every aspect of our environment has been profoundly affected by centuries of civilization and our use (or exploitation) of natural resources. Nature has become “processed” or even designed. Méndez, in her Homeland series, explores a sense of ambivalence—while her panoramic images allude to the sublime in nature, they simultaneously reveal their synthetic process of construction. Incorporated in each landscape is a short line of text capturing a sensation, memory, or experience triggered by the landscape, including references to sustenance—for example, the words ‘till the last tree’ over an image of cows grazing. The texts thus refer back to the core theme of landscapes being farmed, drilled, eroded, and melted for our ‘convenience.’ The processing of nature unfolds both on the level of mediation—in a photographic, panoramic landscape—and the actual harvesting of resources. This mediated nature is embedded into meticulously constructed sculptural objects, whose material–thin sheets of anodized aluminum–seem to have just been milled right then, revealing their mechanical and industrial processes.”

Homeland 2, (Series), 2006; lightjet print, plexiglass, anodized aluminum; 40 x 15 x 15 inches each.

Series includes: Homeland, Peace White; Homeland, Low Green; Homeland, Guarded Blue; Homeland, Elevated Yellow; Homeland, High Orange; Homeland, Severe Red.


Exhibition History:
Second Natures, Eli and Edyth Broad Art Center, Los Angeles, California, October 12–November 18, 2006.

HAAZ Gallery Preview Show, HAAZ Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey, November 14–December 10, 2006.