Sign Box Works
2020–
The sign boxes are made from enamel-coated Plexiglas panels screen-printed with exact reproductions of public sign solicitations procured in the Los Angeles area. The original signs are made to optimize the surface area of the standard screen print, and are standardized to full sheet, half sheet, and quarter sheet
dimensions.
The signs represent small businesses who are soliciting individuals in financial or legal distress, often targeting under-served immigrant communities in a predatory manner, promising assistance with immigration problems, debt, house foreclosure, divorce, custody, or health issues. The frequency of these signs increased dramatically during the mortgage crisis of 2008, spawning a cottage industry of unregulated businesses (often run from home by those who were put out of work during the same period), and have further proliferated under the increasingly stringent, draconian immigration policies of the Trump administration.
Titling Convention:
The date attributed to the work is the year of its first exhibition. A final description of the work, for example one that would appear on a wall didactic in an exhibition space, might read:
BANKRUPTCY $349.00 DIVORCE $225.00 (562) 920-4280; JESUS THE WAY THE TRUTH THE LIFE JOHN 14:6; CAR ACCIDENT ACCIDENTE DE AUTOMOVIL 877-317-4646 FREE LEGAL CONSULTATION; Liquidacion De SEGUNDA HIPOTECA EVITA LA BANCARROTA (323) 206-3939; DIVORCE CUSTODY 818-277-4006; I BUY HOUSES & UNITS FAST CASH ANY PRICE - ANY AREA - ANY CONDITION 310-490-6633
2020
Cast acrylic, acrylic enamel, and vinyl screen ink
12 x 18 x 18 inches
Here annotated:
BANKRUPTCY $349.00 DIVORCE $225.00 (562) 920-4280; JESUS THE WAY THE TRUTH THE LIFE JOHN 14:6; CAR ACCIDENT ACCIDENTE DE AUTOMOVIL 877-317-4646 FREE LEGAL CONSULTATION; Liquidacion De SEGUNDA HIPOTECA EVITA LA BANCARROTA (323) 206-3939; DIVORCE CUSTODY 818-277-4006; I BUY HOUSES & UNITS FAST CASH ANY PRICE - ANY AREA - ANY CONDITION 310-490-6633 [transcription of text on each sign]
2020 [date of first exhibition]
Cast acrylic, acrylic enamel, and vinyl screen ink [media]
12 x 18 x 18 inches [dimensions]