Senor Chips Puts Gringo Twist on Dia de Los Muertos
A day of sugar skulls, painted faces and pan de muertos (bread of the dead), Dia de Los Muertos proves one of the most artistically inspiring days of the year with easily recognizable aesthetic themes. The biggest one is the most simple – the skull.
That sent self-proclaimed gringo Senor Chips on a quest to create Dia de Los Muertos-like art with an unabashedly American twist. His current show at Iam8bit Gallery, “Hecho en el Norte,” which translates to ‘made in the North’, takes recognizable American popular culture images and places them in a Muertos aesthetic.
Throughout the gallery, viewers looked up-close at small but detailed pieces with a recurring question: is that what I think it is? The many humorous scenes included shout-outs to the world of TV, music, movies and more. One scene especially made me chuckle as a music fan – Senor Chips depicts the music video of Run DMC and Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” at the iconic moment when Steven Tyler bursts through the wall.
And the Breaking Bad fever gets to Senor Chips too with a recognizable scene of Jesse and Heisenberg handing over their special good. Basically everything I knew of American culture – and some I didn’t – collided with Dia de Los Muertos traditional imagery. Gracias, Senor Chips.
Hecho en El Norte runs until November 11 Iam8bit Gallery 2147 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026 Thursdays and Friday 3 to 9 PM Saturdays 1 PM to 10 PM Sundays 12 PM to 6 PM
Top: Charlie Chaplin
Following photos courtesy of iam8bit gallery