Enrique Chagoya
Travels of Fortune
2021, lithograph, 22×30 inches

“Travels of Fortune is a tribute to the recent Mayan immigrants who have faced a harsh reality when trying to apply for refugee status in this country. In the print, I wanted to focus on the positive cultural heritage that refugees bring. There is no need to fear them. Our country will get richer culturally and economically when they are accepted. They take life threatening chances few people would take in search of a better life.”

Bio
Drawing from his experiences living on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border in the late 1970s, and also in Europe in the late 1990s, Enrique Chagoya juxtaposes secular, popular, and religious symbols in order to address the ongoing cultural clash between the United States, Latin America, and the world. He uses familiar pop icons to create deceptively friendly points of entry for the discussion of complex issues. Through these seemingly harmless characters, Chagoya examines the recurring subject of colonialism and oppression that continues to riddle contemporary American foreign policy.

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