Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles. Photo © 2024 Yubo Dong; photo credit @ofphotostudio Yubo Dong.
Sewing machines are often used to create garments and accessories; but, for artist Erick Medel, they are fully rounded artistic tools. Using colorful thread on deep blue, heavyweight denim, Medel depicts the daily routines of the latino community of Los Angeles' Boyle Heights neighborhood, where he lives. His images, which blur the lines between photography and memory, truly capture the vibrancy that runs through the area.
Medel began experimenting with thread art in 2019. “At that time, I was creating soft sculptures with fabric, then I began to introduce thread in the work to add small details,” he tells My Modern Met. “In 2020, with the lockdowns, I started to see the sewing machine as a drawing tool, which led me to experiment with that process using denim and thread primarily. Eventually, I started to stretch them like a canvas over a frame.”
Medel works mostly from photographs, but he sometimes designs a composition on his own. At the center of his art, are the immigrant communities of Boyle Heights, through which he has rekindled a relationship with his heritage. “After returning from the east coast for grad school, I began to have a deeper understanding of my identity,” the artist recalls. “I moved to a heavily Latino immigrant neighborhood, which reminded me a lot of my childhood in Mexico. I find it very inspirational and that’s why I make work about it.”
In Medel's works, the intangible connection between the community members works as a narrative thread. Whether it's a tray full of pan dulce at a local bakery, a man painting a mural, a flower arrangement by a door, or happy couples dancing together at a plaza, there's always a sense of life. Even though many figures remain faceless, the energy of the community persists. Boyle Heights is clearly the place where many have found themselves comfortably at home.
Ultimately, while only a handful of people live in Boyle Heights, the feeling of belonging is universal. That's why Medel hopes his works “create some kind of connection, on a human level, even if they aren’t from the same background as me.” He says, “If it can evoke a memory or emotion, that’s successful to me. For the people from my background, I hope they might see themselves or loved ones in the work.”
The exhibition Erick Medel: Vidas runs through August 31 at Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles. To learn more, visit the gallery's website.
Erick Medel uses colorful thread to depict the daily routines of the latino community of Los Angeles' Boyle Heights neighborhood.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles. Photo © 2024 Yubo Dong; photo credit @ofphotostudio Yubo Dong.
His images, which blur the lines between photography and memory, truly capture the vibrancy that runs through the area.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles. Photo © 2024 Yubo Dong; photo credit @ofphotostudio Yubo Dong.
In Medel's works, the intangible connection between the community members works as a narrative thread.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles. Photo © 2024 Yubo Dong; photo credit @ofphotostudio Yubo Dong.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles. Photo © 2024 Yubo Dong; photo credit @ofphotostudio Yubo Dong.
Ultimately, while only a handful of people live in Boyle Heights, the feeling of belonging is universal.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles. Photo © 2024 Yubo Dong; photo credit @ofphotostudio Yubo Dong.
That's why Medel hopes his works “create some kind of connection, on a human level, even if they aren’t from the same background as me.”
Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles. Photo © 2024 Yubo Dong; photo credit @ofphotostudio Yubo Dong.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles. Photo © 2024 Yubo Dong; photo credit @ofphotostudio Yubo Dong.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles. Photo © 2024 Yubo Dong; photo credit @ofphotostudio Yubo Dong.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles. Photo © 2024 Yubo Dong; photo credit @ofphotostudio Yubo Dong.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles. Photo © 2024 Yubo Dong; photo credit @ofphotostudio Yubo Dong.
Erick Medel: Website | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Charlie James Gallery.
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