Exhibited for the Scripps College 79th Ceramic Annual - The Idea of Feeling Brown - Spring 2024 - Curated by Jasmine Baetz
Catalog essay excerpt by Kristie Soares, PhD
"Lucero Aguirre’s quilted tapestry brings together the spaces of brownness and queerness in its sequined message: “Mije.” The term “mije” is a gender-neutral version of the often-used Spanish term of endearment “mija,” or daughter. In transforming “mija” into “mije,” Aguirre considers the affective labor of navigating brownness as a queer subject. The piece responds to the way that intimacy is often gendered in Mexican and Latine spaces, leaving queer Latine bodies at once inside and outside. The sequined articulation of “mije” is a reply of sorts to the old woman in the grocery store that shows affection by calling one “mija.” It lovingly moves the conversation away from the binary toward what Muñoz would call the “not-yet-here” of queerness (121). In doing so it suggests a rupture, making possible a shared commons between queerness and brownness."
Catalog essay excerpt by Kristie Soares, PhD
"Lucero Aguirre’s quilted tapestry brings together the spaces of brownness and queerness in its sequined message: “Mije.” The term “mije” is a gender-neutral version of the often-used Spanish term of endearment “mija,” or daughter. In transforming “mija” into “mije,” Aguirre considers the affective labor of navigating brownness as a queer subject. The piece responds to the way that intimacy is often gendered in Mexican and Latine spaces, leaving queer Latine bodies at once inside and outside. The sequined articulation of “mije” is a reply of sorts to the old woman in the grocery store that shows affection by calling one “mija.” It lovingly moves the conversation away from the binary toward what Muñoz would call the “not-yet-here” of queerness (121). In doing so it suggests a rupture, making possible a shared commons between queerness and brownness."
Dedicated to Román Anaya & Dr. Grant