Upcycled
Juan Hinojosa (2020)
The works I am submitting were all created during the start of the New York City lock down. As an LGBTQ + Latinx artist, I have had to adjust the scale of my work and my studio process. The art work I have made before and during Covid-19 are all made using found ready made objects. Coming from a certain economic background, the struggle to attain items I could not afford became a real struggle and these works are a collection of what my life has become and what I want it to be.
As the first-born child of two Peruvian immigrants in America I became absolutely obsessed with all aspects of American culture. As a child, the desire to have more than we could afford became a constant struggle. This led to my obsession with collecting everything I could get my hands on. I crisscross the city, accumulating discarded ready-made items and picking up pieces of trash, in order to repurpose them as resources to create collages and installations. Constructing art with exclusively found materials has changed the way I look at my own trash and the trash around me. Much like my Peruvian ancestors before me, I am using the surrounding “environment” to create something new. As a “green artist,” I have a responsibility to reduce my waste and the waste in my community, and I accomplish this by turning debris and case offs into art. Each object is extremely precious, as I do not duplicate them in any way. I mix high-end products with low-end goods, mashing up two polar opposites that do not normally go together. Similar to many people in America, I am conflicted by consumerism, and my art works are a result of my own bad habits, desires, and classic American greed.
