The cover art this week features a piece by Gabe Garcia from the current exhibition presented by The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center called Resurgence, on view through August 12. Resurgence artists create, as means to remember narratives before 2020 as well as record personal inspiration and crucial artistic expression, during the crisis and shared challenges throughout this Pandemic. Garcia took this time to explore different approaches to the creative process that depart from his traditional media of zine making.
“The series came from a place of anxiety because of what was happening in the world at that time and the anxiety of painting because it is so difficult and I had not really painted in that way in a very long time,” Garcia said.
He alludes to key elements of the literary works of Philip K. Dick, citing the line, “The Empire Never Ended,” as a major source of inspiration for the integration of the Byzantine era themes.
“Byzantine just kept coming up and my mind. I was working with the idea of multiple realities, not being in control and not seeing what’s going on,” Garcia said.
The figures in the series are uniquely created by Garcia pulling source material from all directions including stock photos and images of family and friends. He then changes something about that source material and further distorts it until the figure takes on a whole new shape and feeling.
“The aim is not necessarily to capture a likeness, but more of a feeling instead of an idea, using the form as a vehicle” Garcia said.
This process can also be observed in the main zine work Garcia is currently working on called Boney Toe. The final installment of the three-part volume, “For All the Marbles” series is planned to be completed by the end of this summer and published in early fall. The project is a vehicle for Garcia to honor his late father and the words and experiences he shared.
Garcia is the Co-Curator for an up and coming Zine exhibition that seeks to redefine the American narrative by reflecting on biased systems that affect marginalized groups socially, economically and medically. He said stepping into this new role has been a challenge because there are so many good artists, but also very natural as he builds bridges for other zine creators across the country.
The exhibition will be hosted in Indiana later this fall with more details to be announced. Garcia envisions more exhibitions like this to emerge as zine making gains more recognition in contemporary art.
Keep up with his work at babygibo.com
(Photo Captions: 1) Fresh Tortillas, 2021; Work in progress for Boney Toe: For All the Marbles, Part 3. 2) Page excerpt from Boney Toe “For All The Marbles, Part I”.)