Oscar Magallanes

About The Artwork

The Blaxican, 2019, Mixed media on wood

The Blaxican is a portrait of my younger sister that was created on the occasion of her graduation from college. It incorporates different motifs and cultural iconography that is important to her and tells of her multicultural identity.

Stealing Home, 2019, Photo-collage

Jackie Robinson, the first African American player to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball, played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The team later moved to Los Angeles and became the Los Angeles Dodgers. The construction of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles involved the forced eviction of many residents from the Chavez Ravine neighborhood where the stadium was built. Many residents, of whom several were of Mexican descent, protested being forced to leave their homes, with some physically resisting eviction. The process of acquiring the land and building the stadium was controversial and remains a significant event in the history of Los Angeles. The work highlights the irony of the Dodgers being celebrated for racial integration while simultaneously displacing many Mexicans from their homes.