In No queda nada para nosotros en la espesura (Nothing Left for Us in the Wilderness), Saúl Hernández-Vargas recalls familial intimacy and political resistance through his “Plates” series, created with distinct Oaxaca mud samples and wax repurposed from his grandfather’s (Alfonso Vargas Sánchez) jewelry practice. In this exhibition, Hernández-Vargas engages a deeply interpersonal narrative that invites viewers to interrogate the Mexican State’s use of pre-Hispanic jewels to promote a homogenous identity and, consequently, a unified political identity.

A Mexican visual artist, editor and non-fiction writer, Saúl Hernández-Vargas‘ work operates in conjunction with his academic research and art practice. His current interests include speculative design, construction of histories, archives, and geology. He holds an MFA in Visual Arts from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and is currently working on his PhD at University of Houston. He was also an artist in residency at Nagoya University of Arts (Japan), Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (España), and FieldWork (Marfa, TX). For 6 years, he has served as an editor for numerous publications in México, founding projects as Yagular Magazine and sur+ Ediciones. Additionally, he also worked as a professional lithography printer in the Taller de Artes Plásticas Rufino Tamayo and Taller La Chicana, in Oaxaca, MX, his home town.

Irmgard Emmelhainz is an independent translator, writer, and researcher based in Mexico City. Her work about film, art, and culture has been translated into multiple languages and published in publications such as Afterall, Jeu de Paume Blog, The Funambulist, e-flux journal, Scapegoat Journal, Third Text, October, Horizontal, Furia Umana, Blog de Nexos, Orfeo Rosso, Campo de relámpagos, Lápiz, among others.

Special thanks to Lawndale staff Stephanie Mitchell, Emily Butts, Emily Fens, Jonathan Clark, and David Cobb; Lawndale Advisory Board Members Peter Gershon, Nick Barbee, Andy Campbell, Jamal Cyrus, Natilee Harren, and Autumn Knight; Abinadi Meza, John Reed, and Rex Koontz, professors of the School of Art at the University of Houston; Ricardo Domínguez, Mariana Botey, Rubén Ortiz-Torres, and Julie Burelle, Hernández-Vargas’ MFA professors at University of California, San Diego; Omar Pimienta, Andrew Sturm, Sindhu Thirumalaisamy, Yásnaya Aguilar-Gil, Tajëëw Díaz Robles, Luna Maran, Marina Azahua, Irmgard Emmelhainz, Rosa María Vargas, Camerino Jiménez; Hernández-Vargas dearest mom, Laura Vargas Fagoaga; and Matías Rivera de Hoyos and Cristina Rivera Garza, Hernández-Vargas’ beloved family.