Gomez was Here; Inspired by the Writing on the Walls

Growing up in the Mission District of San Francisco, ‘Gomez was here’ was the first graffiti tag that caught my attention. ‘Gomez’ was everywhere – in between the buildings and walls of the Mission, on MUNI, at Juvenile Hall, carved into benches. This tag and practice have influenced my multi-disciplinary practice of collecting stories of the streets and archiving them through experimental film, live cinema, photography, collage, and assemblage.
When I was asked to curate this show, it was an opportunity for me to put photography in conversation with a diversity of visual experiences of the streets and other moments that might not always be exhibited together (or in strictly photographic spaces).
Whether it is through archiving their first rolls of shooting film, their walking meditation as they move through the city, their young queer moments, or their unique perspective on passengers on a MUNI journey – the artists in this show are part of the visual Rolodex in my mind.
This exhibition features the work of Hernán Martinez, Julian Marin, Kari Orvik, Leena Joshi, and Tatiana Rivas.