EXHIBITION STATEMENT
ANGEL BABY
An Installation by Lisette Chavez and Audrya Flores
In the well known South Texas folktale, “El Camaroncito,” a young woman goes out dancing at a local dance hall despite the disapproval of her parents. She is invited to dance by a handsome man. While enjoying dancing with this man, she suddenly looks down and sees that in place of human feet, he has a chicken foot and a cloven hoof. Knowing this to be the sign of the devil, the horrified young woman screams and falls helplessly to the floor. Frightened onlookers scatter and the devil disappears into the night leaving behind his victim on the ground and the scent of sulfur lingering in the air. Angel Baby is an installation based on our feminist adaptation of the known folktale. By retelling the story with a female protagonist, we challenge our viewers to consider the manner in which folklore reinforces societal expectations of women and gender-related power.
Exhibitions:
Right Here, Right Now: San Antonio, Contemporary Art Museum Houston, Houston, Texas 2018
Angel Baby, Lady Base Gallery, San Antonio, Texas, 2017
Lisette Chavez and Audrya Flores, Angel Baby (video still), 2017. From installation at Lady Base Gallery. Bed, bedding, fabric, lights, LED bulbs, LED candles, hardware, and video. Single-channel video, color, sound: 2:50 min. Photo by Alma Hernandez.
Photos by Tere Garcia, Alma Hernandez, and others are courtesy of the artists.