Pancho Villa, Mexican Revolutionary, as Rendered in $254.95 worth of Canadian Tire Money, 2000
Pancho Villa, Mexican Revolutionary, as rendered in $254.95 worth of Canadian Tire Money
La Torré de los Vientos, Arte-in-Situ
Mexico City, Mexico
November, 2000
This piece was created for Borders and Boxes, an exchange exhibition between Mexico City and Ottawa on the theme of globalization. As a way of expressing the dynamic between inexpensive consumer products here in Canada and the low wages paid to Mexican workers, Pancho Villa (someone who had fought and lost a revolution to free workers from servitude on haciendas) is rendered in 1,160 coupons from the Canadian Tire chain of stores.
It is interesting to note that Pancho launched his own currency during the Mexican Revolution. It has been argued that it was the loss in value of the currency that led to his defeat.
Pancho Villa, Mexican Revolutionary, as Rendered in $254.95 worth of Canadian Tire Money
Size: 8′ x 8′
Medium: Canadian Tire Money, Canvas, Velcro
Michael Bell, circa 1972, as Rendered in 2430 Post-It Notes
Carleton University Art Gallery
December, 2003
Noting my portrait of Pancho Villa in Canadian Tire Money, I was asked by the staff at the Carleton University Art Gallery to create a piece in a similar vein for Michael Bell’s retirement party. That Michael had spent a career in arts administration, portraying him in Post-It Notes seemed a fair medium.
