Guadalupe Rosales: Drifting on a Memory

Guadalupe Rosales works to document Latinx experiences in the United States, and especially in her native Los Angeles, through her ever-growing repository of communally-sourced archival materials including photographs, memorabilia, and artifacts. 

She develops installations combining photography, ephemera, and sound that intersect with her archival practice. For Drifting on a Memory, Rosales collaborated with Dallas-based lowrider artist Lokey Calderon to create an immersive work that nods to lowrider culture and uses sound to replicate the aural experience of cruising in East LA.​

With origins in Los Angeles in the mid-20th century, lowriders—customized cars that often feature intricate designs, opulent interiors, and glittering finishes—have become a prominent expression of Mexican American culture throughout the United States. The rich colors and finely detailed designs spanning the 153-foot walls of the Museum’s Concourse evoke the iridescent surfaces of the customized cars on a monumental scale. In orchestrating this sensorial space, Rosales activates memories and invites viewers to collectively share in the experience.

Focus Installation

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website