A couple of days ago I joined up with my purikura partner in crime Maya Chinchilla to have lunch and get into some more trouble at Pikapika in Japantown. We enjoyed crepes and bought a couple of new pairs of sunglasses for the occasion. Maya suggested that we bring some social justice struggles into our concepts and decorations for the photos we were about to take.
Arriving at Pikapika we walked around to check out the new and recently repaired purikura booths they had on hand. We came across the image above of a purikura girl with digitally adorned indigenous trappings. I was surprised to see the semiotic plight of my indigenous brothers and sisters had already made its way to the art of purikura. I wonder what’s next?
Maya and I shot photos using two of our favorite booths, Viseei and Love Joker (Shiny Madonna theme, natch). Always the visionary, Maya came well prepared with props of sunglasses, books, and even stuffed animals. When it came time to decorate our photos Maya and I focused on the struggles taking place in Arizona but managed to work in a few other themes as well. Some highlights are below:
Peace and purikura y’all,
Rio
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Published by yanez
Born and raised on the mean streets of San Francisco's Mission District, Rio Yanez is a multimedia artist, photojournalist, and gallery curator. He has a degree in photography and media from the prestigious California Institute of the Arts (Calarts).
In addition to being an artist, Yanez also dons a Mexican Wrestling mask and assumes the identity of El Rio. As El Rio he fights in the name of equality for Latinos and against foes who want his casket closed. El Rio has appeared in video, photographic, and comic book projects as an avenger who "Never kills for the thrill but cuts for the cause."
The life of Rio Yanez has been largely shaped by his experiences as the only child of two semi-famous Latino artists and growing up and finding love in the Mission District. Other Wonder Years style moments in his life have included being robbed at gunpoint inside a McDonalds, getting drunk for the first time under the tutelage of artist Chynna Clugston-Major, the first time he kissed the love of his life, and winning a freestyle rap battle in a crowded Detroit nightclub (okay, maybe not that last one). His favorite artists are Jaime Hernandez, Nikki S. Lee, Shizu Saldamando, Pierre et Gilles, and Daino.
Having dodged more bullets than Neo in The Matrix, much of Yanez' work is a meditation on the urban Latino experience . His latest project is a series of photographs entitled Ghetto-Lomography. The images document the cause and effect of gentrification in the Mission District with a Lomo Fisheye camera.
Yanez has exhibited at Galeria de la Raza, the Mission Cultural Center, and the Richmond Health Center. His most recent curatorial project was Color Exchange a collaborative exhibit featuring contemporary artists from California and Tokyo's Tama Art College. He currently works at the South of Market Cultural Center and is on the photo staff of the bilingual newspaper El Tecolote.
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Oh Rio! So. Much. Fun. And so necessary in these trying times. I really needed that. And we sure have to make some quick decisions there. I’m glad we were able to make it happen. Very inspiring indeed. Thanks again for introducing me this medium of self expression. Keep up the fight. your friend, MC