Mechudo
Maryangela Sanchez Rocca
Cranbrook Academy of Art
These objects are an exploration of lechugilla, also known as Tampico fiber, is a member of the agave family and is used to produce both alcoholic beverages and bread. The fibers extracted from the leaves, called ixtle, have been utilized to create brushes, ropes, shoes, and baskets. My understanding of ixtle comes from Juan Gamboa, an activist and farmworker from an ejido (farmer-owned land) called Jalpa, located in the state of Coahuila, Mexico. The people of Jalpa have not only preserved the tradition of ixtle extraction but also maintain an organic milpa, a cultivation method rooted in indigenous Mesoamerican cultures, which fosters cultural resilience. Lechugilla and ixtle also play an essential role in farming; the lechuguilla plant grows abundantly and helps prevent erosion in the desert. Ejidos that still produce ixtle typically sell their fibers at lower prices to larger companies that process and package them into brushes and brooms. I am using the language of utilitarian objects—such as brooms and brushes—used for hard labor (construction, cleaning, etc.). This labor is predominantly performed by Mexican individuals living in the US. I aim to recontextualize these objects as furniture that represents beauty, leisure, and refusal. I made a table light, a floor light, a screen, and a bench whose only use is to be beautiful, to be objectified, and to challenge their objectification at the same time by being both recognizable and useless. The collection and its iterations stand as an anthropomorphic representation of the many hands that touch ixtle.