Mandy Cano Villalobos: All That Glitters

Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts | Grand Rapids, Michigan

All That Glitters is an exhibition showcasing two-dimensional pieces, sculpture, and installation. This body of work spans a variety of mediums and processes to investigate personal and collective memory amidst the larger backdrop of cultural collisions and global narratives.

The works included combine ritualistic processes with materials that possess complex cultural associations. Often Cano Villalobos juxtaposes worthless rags and valuable goods. For example, the Corpus series is a collection of laboriously crafted vessels made of discarded clothing. Each vessel holds a substance that society deems desirable or necessary, such as salt, flour, or water. Other materials include burlap, tea, and imitation gold. Burlap, a fabric that connotes poverty and mourning, continues to function as a shipping material for coffee, sugar, and other products tainted by the saga of global trade. Tea possesses a similar history. A comforting staple for much of the world, the tea trade is wed to the Anglo colonization of India, as well as China’s Opium Wars. Gold - or rather, its imitation - points to what is pure and authentic, but does not deliver. Desire for true worth is negated, and the imitation only offers a shiny facade.

Cano Villalobos transforms our way of seeing these materials, integrating them with domestic items and imbuing them with human touch. The artist fuses her bodily presence with consumables that have long swayed economic and social power struggles. In this way, Cano Villalobos situates her practice and personal history within the context of larger global narratives and highlights societal desires for what has eluded us both now and in the past.

All That Glitters stems from an intense awareness of mortality. Obsessive sewing, binding, and marking become rituals that veil Cano Villalobos’ fixation with death and, ultimately, worth. She mines Greek myths, song lyrics, personal memories, Western literature, art history, ancient religions, and gender and racial identity to grapple with her own finitude. In couching her story within these grander themes, she seeks to expand the limitations of her life’s brevity.