Murals of La Jolla this week unveiled its latest mural, “In Chains” by San Diego-Tijuana artist Marcos Ramirez ERRE.
The mural, which pulls a quote from the 1926 book “Jazz,” uses the eye chart to deliver “critical commentary on issues of race, identity, and culture.”
“The trope of the eye chart pushes beyond the didactic definition of vision to bring up issues of perception regarding race while also critiquing the biases of recorded history,” a press release read. “Often responding to contemporary events in his work, ERRE’s timely mural pushes the viewer to delve more critically into how America’s past continues to have an effect on the present day treatment and understanding of race, imploring its audience to participate in setting a new precedent for the future, free from the chains of systemic racism.”
ERRE was born in 1961 in Tijuana, Mexico. He received his Law Degree from La Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. In 1983, he immigrated to the United States where he worked for 17 years in the construction industry. His multi-disciplinary background has shaped his practice. He came to prominence in the 1990s with large public installations that dealt with migrants, immigration, and border control, specifically focusing on the Mexico-US border crossing. Much of ERRE’s work grapples with these issues.
Murals of La Jolla was founded by the La Jolla Community Foundation and is now a project of the Athenaeum Music and Arts Gallery. The goal of the mural project is to enhance the civic character of the community by commissioning public art projects on private property throughout La Jolla.
For more information, go to muralsoflajolla.com or ljathenaeum.org.
